Russ Harding, former director of Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality and current director of the Mackinac Center’s Property Rights Network, was invited to Hillsdale College by a group of students who wanted to learn about what’s going in in Michigan with property rights.

After the Kelo decision, Michigan citizens amended the state constitution to strengthen protections for property owners from government use of eminent domain.  But, as Russ shared, government isn’t through taking our property.  They don’t have to use eminent domain to take the value and use of the property, they can simply and often arbitrarily tell property owners that they cannot use their land.  All kinds of crazy (and costly) requirements have been put on citizens for pieces of property deemed “wetlands” that are sometimes no more than a manmade mud puddle.  Check out this site for some stories.

Anyway, as Russ spoke I Twittered some highlights, including, “It cost $160,000 more to develop the same restaurant in Michigan than Indiana based solely on regulations”, and this great line by Russ, “I support green belts; I’m just opposed to stealing them.”

Here’s the event in 73 seconds…