In many states, you can get kicked out of your home if the local government thinks someone else will generate more tax revenue.

The Takings Clause is a part of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and it says that if the government wants to take away someone’s private property, they have to do it in a way that’s fair. Most of us grew up hearing adults say that life isn’t fair. And they’re right—it isn’t. Neither is an authority forcing you to give up your property for whatever they think is fair. 

Courts have said the government can take your property if it’s for something that benefits the public, like building a road or a park. As if that couldn’t go wrong.

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In the years leading up to the American Revolution, the British government had a policy of taking land from private citizens and giving it to favored individuals or companies for economic development. This practice, known as eminent domain or expropriation,........

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