Eminent domain is NOT Constitutional as you have put forth the concept here. The Takings Clause from the Fifth Amendment reads thusly:
…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
This clause does not give the government power to simply ride into town, throw money at a private citizen and take the land. "Just compensation" means an economic equilibrium; that is to say, the buyer and the seller agree on the price of the land in order for a transaction to occur. True, the Supreme Court has taken a Hamiltonian approach to the subject, but that is neither the end of the discussion or final arbitration.
In fact, if you look at what rights Fifth Amendment was protecting, you can see that this clause was a limit on government power, not a grant of power; the previous Amendment assert the basic human right to one's property (search and seizure are only allowed by a court order called a warrant) and the Fifth Amendment reinforces that righting the previous Due Process clause. The only way that the Takings Clause can be interpreted as a grant of power is to take the clause out of its proper context of limiting the government vs. empowering the government.
no subject
This clause does not give the government power to simply ride into town, throw money at a private citizen and take the land. "Just compensation" means an economic equilibrium; that is to say, the buyer and the seller agree on the price of the land in order for a transaction to occur. True, the Supreme Court has taken a Hamiltonian approach to the subject, but that is neither the end of the discussion or final arbitration.
In fact, if you look at what rights Fifth Amendment was protecting, you can see that this clause was a limit on government power, not a grant of power; the previous Amendment assert the basic human right to one's property (search and seizure are only allowed by a court order called a warrant) and the Fifth Amendment reinforces that righting the previous Due Process clause. The only way that the Takings Clause can be interpreted as a grant of power is to take the clause out of its proper context of limiting the government vs. empowering the government.