Quote:The dual systems of asset forfieture and emminent domain are much like taxation, in that their existence is a cost for living in society. Asset forfeiture is a punishment for engaging in a crime (ie, seizing the assets of drug dealers, tax evaders and so on) and emminent domain is a principle which prevents individuals from hoarding valuable resources to the deteriment of society as a whole (if you have the only source of potable water in a town and refuse to share it for a reasonable fee you can bet your ass the state will seize it, and well they should).
I agree with most of your points except on asset forfeiture, but that is more due to implementation details (Not enough Due Process protections, documented abuses of the system) rather than an overarching disagreement with the concept.
It's stories like these that make me leery of the current implementation; (from http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/looti ... erica.html)
Quote:Police stopped 49-year-old Ethel Hylton at Houston's Hobby Airport and told her she was under arrest because a drug dog had scratched at her luggage. Agents searched her bags and strip-searched her, but they found no drugs. They did find $39,110 in cash, money she had received from an insurance settlement and her life savings; accumulated through over 20 years of work as a hotel housekeeper and hospital janitor. Ethel Hylton completely documented where she got the money and was never charged with a crime. But the police kept her money anyway. Nearly four years later, she is still trying to get her money back.E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."