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Public: City: Climate
Self Contained Underwater Mortgage Apparatus   (+9)  [vote for, against]
SCUMA

Global warming meets mortgage meltdown.

We've all seen what happens when we refuse to accept the risks of living below sea level.

Use the federal government's terrific (and terrifying) eminent domain powers to seize low lying areas, which will eventually be lost due to global warming anyway, thus creating a massive squeeze on real estate availability, and solving the mortgage crisis.
-- theircompetitor, Oct 26 2011

Eminent domain http://en.wikipedia...wiki/Eminent_domain
also known, in jurisdictions which eschew to a greater extent obfusticatory nomenclaturisation of legal principles, as "Compulsory Purchase" [calum, Oct 26 2011]

Ocean front properties in Brownville, ME http://flood.firetr...5,-69.0189&z=8&m=60
[Klaatu, Nov 15 2011]

Floating City http://science.hows...l/floating-city.htm
[theircompetitor, Nov 16 2011]

Wait - even under eminent domain, doesn't the government have to pay for the seized land?
-- pertinax, Oct 26 2011


yes, which would be a legal -- rather than an extra legal -- way to get this property off the books.
-- theircompetitor, Oct 26 2011


Yes, it does… in money it prints itself, or borrows in the market at preferential rates.

A truly innovative approach to equity erosion.
-- 8th of 7, Oct 26 2011


At least the coral reefs could recover some footing.
-- RayfordSteele, Oct 26 2011


So, the government will ease the debt crisis by borrowing more money but, unlike other such schemes, this one has the government dumping the borrowed money into the ocean?
-- pertinax, Oct 27 2011


Please target the epicenter of this man-made natural disaster on Brownville, Maine. I have some grossly undervalued property I need to unload.
-- Alterother, Oct 27 2011


There are three reasons why this is both a good and bad idea.

1) eminent domain - Oh My Gods! The Cookie Monster is taking on Scooter in a UFC match right now.

GOOOAH! COOOOKIE!
-- Zimmy, Nov 15 2011


//Please target the epicenter of this man-made natural disaster on Brownville, Maine. I have some grossly undervalued property I need to unload.//

You may want to hold onto that property for ocean front. <link>
-- Klaatu, Nov 15 2011


I think this is a splendid idea tc, but I don't think you've thought it through the whole way. As I see it, the cycle will go thusly:-

Government seizes land, leading to...
Property prices go up, leading to...
Inflation and the devaluation of money, leading to...
The government sells it's land holdings for more than it paid in order to pay off it's now devalued debt. Leading to...
Mortgage crisis again but at least the government will be solvent. Hoorah!
-- DrBob, Nov 16 2011


How about actually building houses underwater? This will create an entirely new property market, complete with premium options such as "Coral-Views", "Trench-Facing", "Benefits from Gulf-Stream Aspects" etc - this stimulates a construction boom, along with associated infrastructure, and in addition to all this, the term "Property Bubble" will be redefined from something with a negative connotation, into an altogether more positive one, thus solving the confidence issues and making everyone rich again almost immediately - hooray!
-- zen_tom, Nov 16 2011


There are several "serious" attempts at getting a floating city off the ground, pun intended
-- theircompetitor, Nov 16 2011



random, halfbakery