John Adams
Posted on 11/05/2011 12:22:30 PM PDT by Sybeck1
Barbour: Initiative 31 bad for business 'It'll cost us a whole lot of jobs,' governor warns
Firing back at critics of using eminent domain as a tool for economic development, Gov. Haley Barbour says DeSoto County voters armed with facts shouldn't be afraid to shoot down Initiative 31 on the Tuesday ballot.
They should be afraid of the economic impact if the proposal passes: "It'll cost us a whole lot of jobs. It would be felt in DeSoto County and all across the state," he said.
"People shouldn't be misled into thinking this will protect their property from eminent domain," said Barbour, noting lengthy exceptions including roads, bridges, drainage, schools and hospitals. "If people read the list, they'd understand why 99 percent of land ever taken by eminent domain before still can be taken under the initiative."
Also, the governor said, "in the rare instances where eminent domain has been used for economic development projects, it has been for major job creation."
He noted the huge Ingalls Shipbuilding operation in Pascagoula, the nearby Stennis Space Center, the Nissan plant in Canton and Toyota's new site in Blue Springs.
He added that the option is used sparingly and that in DeSoto County, "not one acre of land" has been taken by eminent domain for economic development.
Barbour's comments follow Monday's DeSoto County stop by representatives of the Mississippi Farm Bureau, including president Randy Knight, on a statewide tour calling for support of the constitutional measure to ban the eminent domain-economic development option.
Barbour pointed out that Knight had written in a recent guest column for the Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson that while the option might be a problem later, "it isn't a problem in this state now."
"We don't need to be changing the state Constitution to fix something that's not a problem," Barbour said.
Mississippi is one of seven states holding the option.
What the initiative would "fix" into the state Constitution would be elimination of a tool that has benefited thousands of working Mississippians, and adding a disadvantage, he said. For big developments, Mississippi competes primarily with Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas, which use eminent domain as the Magnolia State does.
"We wouldn't have the Toyota plant if it wasn't for eminent domain," Barbour said.
In his column, Knight added: "Tough economic times force officials to make difficult decisions. The chance to increase tax revenue at the expense of someone's private property rights might be too hard to resist."
Barbour responds: "We already have a set of rules for protecting private property that is among the strictest in the U.S."
Initiative 31 ping
Sit down and shut up fat boy.
That anyone who claims an (R) behind his name would say this is baffling.
Depends upon whose business you are concerned about.
If you are concerned about the business of the government/corporate-complex, you are absolutely correct. Allowing the government/corporate-complex to steal from non-members of the government/corporate-complex gives the government/corporate-complex a distinct, insurmountable advantage.
Putting them all in prison would negate that advantage.
One by one, Republicans whom I have long admired show their contempt for us.
Yes, Haley, we know that eminent domain will still exist for public works. We just don't want our land taken by the government to give to another guy who's promised to name a building after you.
And, yes, Haley, 99% of the reasons government can take your property will still exist, but 90% of the actual takings will stop. He thinks we're dopes.
LLS
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