The (Corporate) Ownership Society (and San Diego alert)

[Senior citizen]

As Nigeria and Mexico mow down private homes and squatter camps, displacing the occupants, here in the U.S.A. the Supreme Court has said that cities can now use eminent domain to seize private homes and give the land to developers. This evening on NOW the mayor of one such city explained that he needed to give private homes to developers in order to combat the city's fiscal deficit, in part due to pension obligations.

Here in San Diego we are facing a big deficit, in part due to illegal pension underfunding. I watched a debate between mayoral candidates on TV last night, and none of them mentioned the obvious solution to the city's fiscal problems. But if a Republican is elected, you can bet your bottom dollar that the city will be approached by big developers offering the eminent domain solution, and Republicans are likely to prefer that approach to more humane solutions.

San Diegans elected Democrat Donna Frye to be mayor, but due to a technicality Donna was not permitted to take office and now we are having a new mayoral election. There are a lot of candidates and some of them have a LOT of money. Big developers are likely to contribute a lot more money to candidates they know will return the favor if elected. Unless Frye is reelected, San Diego is soon going to see a lot more homeless people as eminent domain is used to seize private homes and businesses.

Worse, although the previous Secretary of State had decertified Diebold for defrauding 17 California counties by selling them uncertified election software, the new Secretary of State and the Voter Systems and Procedures Panel are now considering recertifying Diebold. Republicans believe in 3-strikes and you're out when it comes to people who break the law, but when it comes to big corporations, seventeen strikes don't seem to mean anything.

Yes, this is the ownership society alright. Corporations own society and we the people don't.

[earthboundmisfit]

1. Oh this all is SO smackin' of the French Revolution...

Poverty & desperate circumstances of the citizenry vs the obscene excesses of an arrogant ruling class...

[DBoon]

2. Yeah, they'll take your homes to build a football stadium

So that they can have more corporate-paid box seats.

[lonestarnot]

3. They try to take my home and bullets are gona fly guaranteed!

[Senior citizen]

4. YOUR tax dollars paid for THEIR bullets. n/t

[lonestarnot]

5. Yeah that pisses me off too!