This Land Was Your Land, Now It’s Uncle Sam’s Land.

So, did you think that mortgage payment and those property taxes you pay meant you own your home? Well, it does, until the government wants to take it away from you. You know to sell to private real estate developers to build condos and restaurants or anything else that will generate more tax revenue than your little house can. It is all OK though I mean there just looking out for your best interests, or at least that is what the mayor of Riviera Beach, Florida, who is taking property from 6,000 residents under eminent domain believes, says he's actually "rescuing" the residents. Riiiiight…

"We are going to rescue and relocate individuals and we will put them in a better position than they're living in now," Mayor Michael Brown told Sean Hannity of the Fox News Channel.

Yes, what a plan, lets take their homes and relocate them to a better place, where they are better off. But by whose standard would they be better off? Many of these folks have lived here their whole lives and they own their own homes. They are self sufficient, they may not be rich but they are not living off the government. Many their home is their life savings. Home ownership is an investment, this is no different then the government going in and confiscating your stock portfolio. If you take away someone’s life savings like this and they end up being dependent on government welfare programs, are they better off? What have you rescued them from?

It seems a number of residents in the redevelopment zone do not wish to be rescued either. Many of them have voiced dismay at what they believe is a government-sanctioned land grab benefiting wealthy citizens and private developers.

"We just can't believe that this can happen in America. Anywhere else, but not in America," said longtime resident Princess Wells. "We have so many kids that are losing their lives to keep America safe ... and to know they're going and taking people's property here while we have young kids dying to protect us is really very sad."

Mayor Brown went on to say this:

"This is a redevelopment plan which includes restaurants and condos," said Brown. "The overall plan is designed to train people, get them better jobs so they can have a living wage and not a minimum wage so we can increase our tax base so that we can pay for fire, police, so we can provide basic services."

Sounds a lot like communism to me.