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November 11, 2009
New London - The Triumph of Socialism
Posted by Gregory of Yardale at November 11, 2009 8:14 AM
When the enlightened progressive government of New London, Connecticut decided to confiscate private property and turn it over to a large corporation for development, they declared it was for the Common Good. They promised development, jobs, and tax revenues from the developments that would be built on the confiscated land. The Central Planners of the city government decided that the needs of the community were greater than the needs of the private homeowners. The Supreme Court agreed, and allowed the city government to confiscate the land.
How well did this exercise in central planning at the expense of property rights work? Not so great as it turns out.
Pfizer, the company for whose benefit the central planners confiscated the land, is pulling out of New London, leaving its existing campus vacant and taking away 1,400 jobs. The hotel which was to be built on the confiscated land won't be built after all, partly because of Pfizer pulling out, and partly because the Coast Guard Museum that was to be built on the site is in limbo while the local Demonrat congressman tries to get an earmark for it. (BTW, there are already Coast Guard Museums in Seattle, Cape Cod, and Virginia Beach. Why, in an age of trillion dollar deficits, do we need to build another one?)
But remember, we need government central planners to run health care, energy, banking, and other areas of the economy because they do such a better job than the private sector.
