Across this nation, small-business owners, family farmers and small landowners are forced to suffer uncompensated "takings" of their private property by government regulations. Tired of condemnation without compensation, these citizens are joining the property-rights movement.
Although the property-rights movement may seem to be a recent phenomenon, protection of private property is as old as the Constitution. Two hundred years ago the Founders of our country included in the Bill of Rights a guarantee of the right to private property. The Fifth Amendment provides that private property shall not "be taken for public use without just compensation."The purpose of the Fifth Amendment is simple: The public - not an individual - should pay for the cost of public benefits. A highway, a wetland and a wildlife reserve each benefit the public.
Making the federal government pay for the cost of public benefits also forces the government to weigh the costs and benefits of particular laws and regulations.
Rep. Lamar Smith, D-Texas
The Christian Science Monitor