People concerned about the rights of others should boycott Barclays Bank due to its participation in the eminent domain abuse scheme in the borough of Brooklyn in the City of New York, USA. Barclays, a British bank with branches in America, agreed to pay the developer Forest City Ratner over $305 million for naming rights over a thirty-year period to the Nets basketball team’s arena in a project called Atlantic Yards. The project will combine the arena with residential and commercial space. Millions of Americans were outraged by the Kelo decision of the United States Supreme Court upholding eminent domain transfers to private developers. Boycotting Barclays Bank will allow those so outraged to demonstrate opposition in a material way.
Concerned people should neither borrow money from nor deposit money with Barclays Bank. Making a silent protest is less effective however. Therefore, it would be best to let them know why you are boycotting them. This property rights protest need not be limited to Americans.
To Libertarians like myself, corporate sports welfare and eminent domain abuse are legalized theft, stealing from taxpayers and landowners. Barclays chose to become an accomplice of Bruce Ratner. They should both bear the outrage of indignant Americans who favor freedom and justice. Libertarians are for private property and free markets. They are neither pro-business or anti-business.
The Libertarian Party of New York (
www.ny.lp.org) has fought eminent domain that would have dispossessed St. Luke’s Pentecostal Church on Long Island and a neighborhood in New Rochelle to make way for an Ikea Swedish furniture store, besides the NY Times headquarters scheme which I dubbed "Time$cam." -30-www.cato.org
For more information about eminent domain:
Cato Institute
Institute for Justice
International Society for Individual Liberty
Libertarian Party www.lp.org
Manhattan Libertarian Party www.manhattanlp.org
Property Rights Federation of America
BARCLAYS BANK BOYCOTT TO PROTEST EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE
Leave Your Comments