30 January 2006

Chalk One Up for Principle

Lots of folks I know think you need government to correct wayward capitalism. Here's a damned fine example of capitalism coming to the rescue after government drops the ball:

In an unusual move, BB&T Corp. said Wednesday it will not lend money for commercial projects on land seized by the government through an exercise of eminent domain. Banks rarely restrict lending for philosophical reasons, but the Winston-Salem bank said it wanted to publicly oppose a widely reviled Supreme Court ruling in June that allowed such seizures.

"The idea that a citizen's property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided, in fact it's just plain wrong," Chief Executive John Allison said in a statement.

Bravo to BB&T, which is no small player, with 1,400 branches and nearly $110 billion in assets.

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