Joe Simpson and his wife have lived in their home for 55 years. They had their children here, they raised them here, they farmed here and they now enjoy the golden years. The house is paid off and they have settled in for the rest of their lives. This will all be disrupted however because an out of state business group wants to build a manufacturing plant on their property. Simpson doesn't know if he can fight it. He has heard about eminent domain laws in the past. Something about the good of the whole outweigh the good of the person and he thinks he is going to have to give up the only place he has ever lived. His father built the house before Joe was even born but the state doesn't care. It only wants his land and is willing to bulldoze the handcrafted home that his daddy built to get it. .

             Eminent domain laws allow governments to seize land whether or not the owner wants to part with it. While the law clearly mandates the government pay the land owner more than the current market value for the home, it has a legislated right to force that sale without regard to the owner's feelings. While the good of the whole makes sense in theory, the forcing of the sale of land goes against everything the constitution stands for. It is important to uphold the constitution in every instance for every person regardless of the hardships it may cause government agencies. The states should be duty bound to protect private property in all instances. .

             EMINENT DOMAIN.

             "Jim Seelbach, 83, lives in a suburb of St. Louis and he is about to lose his home of 20 years. The city wants it to make way for a shopping center. .

             Mr. Seelbach and several dozen neighbors in the city of Sunset Hills face an eminent-domain order that could seize their properties to develop the $160 million complex filled with stores and offices. Even if he were amenable to moving, he says the money offered for his home would make it impossible to find similar housing.