The Death of Property Ownership

The supreme court made a ruling that I find to be curious. Private property can be taken by another private individual/corporation if the use would generate more tax revenue. The idea of eminent domain has been around since the Constitution was written. In the Bill of Rights, the fifth amendment says no person shall be "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. "

So the thing is that the property can be taken for "public" use, but nothing is said about private use. A corporation would be a private use. Even if it is a shopping mall, it is private property. If it were used for a road, a park, or a government building, then that would be public. So I do not see how they could make such a ruling.

That brings into question the right to own property. I guess we should shy away from calling it ownership and change it to "stewardship". You can be the steward of the land you have your house on, but it can be taken away from you. If I owned it, I would have the ability to not sell if I did not want to, unless of course the fifth amendment would kick in. Well, that is the way it was. Today, I am afraid that some of the older neighborhoods where small houses on large pieces of property will soon go under the plow blade to put up larger houses on a postage-stamps sized piece of property.

I hope that congress will do something about this abuse of the eminent domain clause in the Bill of Rights.