SCOTUSblog - Discussion: Takings and privatization

« Agreeing with Tom Merrill | Main | More on takings & privatization »

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Takings and privatization

Kelo | Posted by Ilya Somin at 04:33 PM

Eugene Volokh raises an interesting point to which I would like to respond:

"For many years, people who generally lean pro-free-market and small-government have argued that when the government does things, it should usually do them through private entities ... The funny thing is that, in Kelo v. City of New London, it is the (mostly liberal) majority's test that would give the government flexibility to serve public goals by taking property and selling it to private parties, when the government thinks the private parties will be better positioned to provide the public benefit. And it is the conservative dissenters' test that would give the government a strong incentive to own and operate various enterprises itself... Under the dissenters' view, if the City of New London wants to take property to run a shopping mall,... it's free to do so. But if it wants to take property and resell it to a private shopping mall owner, it may not."

I would make two responses to Eugene's point:

First, I would argue that courts should forbid even takings that retain the property under public ownership if there is strong evidence that the main purpose was to benefit private parties rather than the general public. Indeed, such takings are sometimes invalidated by state courts. However, federal takings law has been so deferential for so many years, that you can't reform it all at once. And private-to-private takings are an easier place to begin doctrinally.

Second, there is an important incentive problem present in takings that does not arise with other types of "privatization" of public services. When property is condemned for transfer to a private party, there are usually very few if any limits on what the new owner can do with it. In Kelo and other economic development takings cases, the new owner has ZERO legal obligation to actually provide the economic benefits that allegedly justified the taking in the first place.

By contrast, when public services are "privatized" by contracting out, the contractors (as the term implies) are usually required to sign a binding contract that creates a legal obligation to provide the public service in question. For this reason, private-to-private condemnations that supposedly serve public purposes are much more vulnerable to abuse than are most kinds of privatization. Free market advocates are right to view them with heightened suspicion.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/529

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Takings and privatization:

» texas holdem rank of hands from texas holdem rank of hands
You are invited to take a look at some relevant information on texas holdem poker site [Read More]

Tracked on July 30, 2005 09:11 AM

» free offline texas holdem poker software from free offline texas holdem poker software
You can also check out the sites about no limit texas holdem [Read More]

Tracked on August 22, 2005 01:35 AM

» bestiality from
beastiality stories animal mating animalsex animalsex animalsex dog cum [Read More]

Tracked on August 29, 2005 07:23 PM

» carisoprodol from carisoprodol
carisoprodol [Read More]

Tracked on August 30, 2005 11:02 AM

» teen pussy from
teen girls lesbian rape teens dog fuck tiffany teen horse mating [Read More]

Tracked on September 15, 2005 12:30 PM

» texas holdem strategy and hints from texas holdem strategy and hints
You may find it interesting to check out some relevant information dedicated to Texas Holdem Pit Boss Table Tops [Read More]

Tracked on September 22, 2005 10:02 PM

» alquiler ruletas from alquiler ruletas
Please check the sites in the field of premio paginas web [Read More]

Tracked on October 1, 2005 09:57 PM

» Online Casino from Online Casino
Thank You For Your Interest In Online Casino We Have Been Serving Quality Online Casino Since 1996. Thank you for your interest in Online Casino. Testimony is no longer being taken for the 2002 budget. For more i... [Read More]

Tracked on March 21, 2006 08:58 AM

» Casino Online from Casino Online
Casino Online is the leader and innovator in advanced Web Site Casino Online Services. This is an excellent place to post your questions about Casino Online, provide comment and participate in http://www.... [Read More]

Tracked on March 25, 2006 01:14 AM

» Casino Online from Casino Online
This is a time of great excitement and promise here at Casino Online We are now located at our new school campus in Casino Online. Don�t live with insecurity, negative thoughts and irrational behavior. Use ... [Read More]

Tracked on March 30, 2006 05:15 PM

» Casinos Game from Casinos Game
This Casinos Game program has been funded for 120,000 procedures and so far 40,000 have been performed! This drastically helps to reduce our Casinos Game site. This information will be reviewed and a determinati... [Read More]

Tracked on March 31, 2006 06:30 AM

» Virtual Casinos from Virtual Casinos
For decades, we've believed in building relationships through face-to-face interaction, and adhering to a strategy of recommending quality Virtual Casinos investments that have proven themselves over time. We understand that this approach might be cons... [Read More]

Tracked on April 4, 2006 10:57 PM

» blackjack from blackjack
Ce programme de blackjack a �t� fond� pour 120 000 proc�dures et jusqu'� pr�sent 40 000 ont �t� accomplies! Cela aide fortement a r�duire notre site blackjack. Si vous d�cider de conserver le service de blackjack... [Read More]

Tracked on April 20, 2006 09:47 AM

» casinos on line from casinos on line
Nous vous encourageons a amener votre fils passer une journ�e a casinos on line. Cette visite est �tablie pendant le casinos on line afin de donner a votre fils une vue g�n�rale d'une �cole ordinaire aujour... [Read More]

Tracked on April 21, 2006 02:26 AM

» on line games from on line games
When you use us to write and send a press release for you about on line games, you are guaranteed that it will be published. Please visit our Multimedia Center for on line games - on line games. New articl... [Read More]

Tracked on July 11, 2006 08:55 PM

» slot machine from slot machine
Looking for free 30 day trials of our products? Visit our slot machine center!. Lost your registration code? Need to download a purchased product again? Visit our slot machine center to have your information... [Read More]

Tracked on July 16, 2006 01:42 PM

» Breast+Enlargement from Breast+Enlargement
++You+don%27t+have+to+go+to+college+to+be+a+success+...+We+need+the+people+who+run+the+offices%2C+the+people+who+do+the+hard+physical+work+of+our+society.+ [Read More]

Tracked on September 14, 2006 03:51 AM

» HOODIA from HOODIA
++Our+democracy+is+but+a+name.+We+vote%3F+What+does+that+mean%3F+It+means+that+we+choose+between+two+bodies+of+real+ [Read More]

Tracked on September 14, 2006 09:38 AM

» casino harrahs las vegas from casino harrahs las vegas
casino harrahs las vegas [Read More]

Tracked on January 1, 2007 12:56 PM

» chart color myspace from chart color myspace
chart color myspace [Read More]

Tracked on January 2, 2007 02:43 PM

» opportunita di lavoro from opportunita di lavoro
opportunita di lavoro [Read More]

Tracked on January 21, 2007 11:48 AM

» remax real estate in nj from remax real estate in nj
[Read More]

Tracked on January 23, 2007 06:41 AM

» naked girl in water from doodhwali erotic stories
anime porn movies free [Read More]

Tracked on January 29, 2007 08:17 AM

» giovanni hair products from giovanni hair products
giovanni hair products [Read More]

Tracked on April 2, 2007 12:26 AM

» ballet wallpapers from ballet wallpapers
ballet wallpapers [Read More]

Tracked on April 5, 2007 05:34 PM

» Incest porn from Incest porn
Incest porn [Read More]

Tracked on April 12, 2007 04:52 AM

» Incest movies from Incest movies
Incest movies [Read More]

Tracked on May 9, 2007 08:41 PM

» 3d team from 3d team
shit-happens 3091898 Technologies of 3d team [Read More]

Tracked on June 18, 2007 12:01 PM

» fairview tn real estate from fairview tn real estate
shit-happens 3091898 fairview tn real estate intro [Read More]

Tracked on June 20, 2007 11:01 AM

» cut final from cut final
shit-happens 3091898 Pros and cons of cut final. [Read More]

Tracked on June 24, 2007 11:06 AM

Comments

re: "the new owner has ZERO legal obligation to actually provide the economic benefits that allegedly justified the taking in the first place."

Except that the state can try again and retake the property.

Posted by: VK at June 23, 2005 05:12 PM

It seems to me that the idea behind an economic redevelopment plan is that if the developer does what is economically beneficially to them, economic benefits would "trickle down" in the form of jobs, etc.

Also, I think the developer does have to follow the approved redevelopment plan, or the government would have the right to re-take the property.

Posted by: Gene Vorobyov at June 24, 2005 04:11 AM

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Takings and privatization

Trackback Pings

Comments

Post a comment

Recent Posts

Calendar

Search

Archives

Contributors

Links

News Site Sections