[schan]

There is too much friction to build high speed rail in the US due to the democratic process. You have to get everybody along the way to agree which is pretty much impossible as you get to populated areas. In a place with a centralized government system like China, the nice thing is that things get built very quickly, but it sucks for the people who are affected negatively along the way.

[muhfuhkuh]

Eminent Domain displaces people in the US all the time. When a developer wants a pretty lake by the highway to build a condo complex, guess where the trailer park that was next to the lake goes?

Kelo v. City of New London for just one example.

[btmorex]

Well, there's huge differences in the scale of eminent domain projects. A new rail line is likely to affect a huge area with a whole lot of people, many of whom vote. You have to get politicians on board representing many different areas of the state. How do you convince the guy who represents a district that is just "passed through"? It's a pure negative for his constituents.

Not saying it can't be done, but it's a whole lot harder than building a shopping mall, that displaces a handful of houses.

[natrius]

Kelo-style eminent domain is uncommon. The idea is that the land is taken for the benefit of the public, and usually that benefit is direct, like a new highway. In Kelo, the public benefit was the jobs and tax revenue from new private development, which is why it went to the Supreme Court.

[splat]

How do you define uncommon? Here are just a few cases of Kelo-style eminent domain:

http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/current/2010/04/11/from-the-e...

http://reason.com/archives/2009/10/13/private-developers-hav...

http://boortz.com/nuze/alabaster.html

http://www.castlecoalition.org/index.php?option=com_content&...

http://www.ij.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view...

http://reason.com/archives/2003/02/01/wrecking-property-righ...