Pfizer abandons site of infamous Kelo eminent domain taking

Amazing how corporate welfare backfires. Remember the Kelo v. New London decision on eminent domain? The Supreme Court’s decision in that case essentially gave governments across the nation a green light to take any American’s property for any reason so long as the public received some benefit from the taking.

Now, having used (abused) the power of government to take the homes of dozens of long-time area residents, Pfizer has abandoned the development entirely, so the supposed economic benefits to the City of New London of abusing the property rights of its citizens have evaporated leaving empty plots of land. How appropriate.

Thankfully, policymakers here in New Mexico, at the behest of the Rio Grande Foundation and the Institute for Justice — the libertarian law firm that argued Kelo before the Supreme Court — New Mexico now has one of the strongest eminent domain laws in the nation, “A-” on the Castle Coalition’s 50 state ranking.

Ultimately, government officials all around the country — and here in New Mexico — need to learn the lesson that favoring one business or industry above all others is a bad strategy and doomed to ultimate failure. Whether the subsidy is taking private homes or tax dollars to fund Eclipse Aviation, the policies are both unfair and likely to fail.