Government Pirates : The Assault on Private Property Rights--and How We Can Fight It

After years of hard work and saving, you finally own a home. But don't get too comfortable. If government officials decide they want your property, they can take it—for a wide variety of shady reasons that go far beyond the usual definition of ''public purposes.'' The courts have allowed these injustices to persist. And there is nothing you can do about it—not yet. Real estate developer and property rights expert Don Corace offers the first in-depth look at eminent domain abuse and other government regulations that are strangling the rights of property owners across America. Government Pirates is filled with shocking stories of corrupt politicians, activist judges, entrenched bureaucrats, greedy developers, NIMBY (Not-in-My-Backyard) activists, and environmental extremists who conspire to seize property and extort money and land in return for permits. Corace provides the hard facts about individual rights and offers invaluable advice for those whose property may be in danger. It is the one book that every property owner in America has to read.

After years of hard work and saving, you finally own a home. But don't get too comfortable. If government officials decide they want your property, they can take it—for a wide variety of shady reasons that go far beyond the usual definition of "public purposes." The courts have allowed these injustices to persist. And there is nothing you can do about it—not yet.

Real estate developer and property rights expert Don Corace offers the first in-depth look at eminent domain abuse and other government regulations that are strangling the rights of property owners across America. Government Pirates is filled with shocking stories of corrupt politicians, activist judges, entrenched bureaucrats, greedy developers, NIMBY (Not-in-My-Backyard) activists, and environmental extremists who conspire to seize property and extort money and land in return for permits. Corace provides the hard facts about individual rights and offers invaluable advice for those whose property may be in danger. It is the one book that every property owner in America has to read.

New York Post

“The book, which is designed and organized to maximize readings on the outrage-o-meter, comes chock-a-block with bullet-pointed anecdotes of redevelopers gone wild.”

Contents......Page 5 Introduction: Property For The Taking......Page 9 1 The Almighty Judges......Page 15 2 The Despotic Power......Page 23 3 Redevelopment: Is It A Scam?......Page 29 4 A Little Pink Cottage Becomes National Symbol......Page 37 5 Those Pesky Holdouts......Page 47 6 Murky Waters In Riviera Beach......Page 59 7 Story Snapshots......Page 71 8 Controlling Land Locally......Page 81 9 City Of Pirates......Page 89 10 Buzzards Circling Over Buzzards Bay......Page 103 11 Highway Robbery......Page 115 12 Story Snapshots......Page 123 13 Regulating Puddles And Ponds......Page 135 14 A Wetlands Desperado......Page 143 15 Those Dam Bureaucrats!......Page 151 16 A Wetlands Nightmare......Page 157 17 Story Snapshots......Page 167 18 The Endangered Species Act Gone Wild!......Page 179 19 Held Hostage By A Fly......Page 189 20 The Cave Bugs Are Safe......Page 199 21 A Grizzly Lesson To Learn......Page 207 22 Story Snapshots......Page 215 23 A Call To Action......Page 225 Appendix: Legislative Reform Strategies......Page 231 Acknowledgments......Page 233 Notes......Page 239 Index......Page 263 Examines the growing issue of private property and eminent domain abuses around the country, revealing brazen seizures of property by local, state, and federal government authorities that trample on the rights of individual property owners Title from PDF title page (viewed on Sept. 5, 2008).