Three Years Later: Still No Eminent Doman Reform

It was over 40 years ago that Herbert Gans chronicled the destruction of Boston's West End through so-called "urban renewal" in The Urban Villagers. The neighborhood had been home to thousands of working class Italian families when it was declared "blighted," taken by eminent domain and razed by the city. It is now home to luxury condos.

In 2005, the Supreme Court took up its first eminent domain case in decades with Kelo v. New London. The court ruled that the government can take people's land and hand it over to private developers just with the vague promise of "economic development" for the area. States across the country quickly reacted in horror and passed their own legislation limiting eminent domain.

Massachusetts was not one of those states. State Representative Marty Walz is now attempting to get legislation passed, but it looks like it is being stalled in the Senate. Local politicians predict doom and gloom if the legislation is passed, but studies have shown that just ain't so. In fact, another studied has shown that poor minorities are most likely to be victims of these land grabs.

So where exactly is the "public good" here? Is there someone out there who can explain and defend the use of eminent domain for me?

Is Laissez Faire to Blame?

Thomas Sowell is one of the intellectual giants of our time. Not since Milton Friedman have we seen an economist who can translate economic jargon into everyday language.

Sowell's two latest columns, both on the so-called housing crisis, are a testament to his ability to see an issue clearly. Despite what others say, Sowell demonstrates how government, not the market, is at the root of the latest housing crisis. You can read them here and here.

I once had an economics professor tell me that the crisis came about because the housing market was unregulated. He said this with a straight face ignoring the long history of housing legislation and regulation. No doubt my professor would like more government. But, as Howard Husock has demonstrated, housing problems become worse when the federal, state and local governments intervene.