{"id":3915,"date":"2005-06-24T14:25:59","date_gmt":"2005-06-24T18:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/06\/24\/local-schmocal-kelo\/"},"modified":"2011-09-07T09:59:57","modified_gmt":"2011-09-07T13:59:57","slug":"local-schmocal-kelo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/06\/24\/local-schmocal-kelo\/","title":{"rendered":"local schmocal: kelo"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ooh\u00a0 potluck <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
Like webloggers and journalists across the entire spectrum of American politics<\/span> and political philosophy (from TalkLeft<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Pattis<\/span><\/a>, to <\/span>Bainbridge<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Sandefur<\/span><\/a>;<\/span> but see <\/span>NYT editorial<\/span><\/span><\/a>) the lawyer in me (especially as an advocate for personal and<\/span> consumer rights, and the economically weak) believes <\/span>Kelo v. City of New London<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>was wrongly decided.<\/span><\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
Having lived in dying and fiscally desperate NE industrial cities, I admit that another<\/span> part of me wonders if there, in fact,\u00a0shouldn’t be a way for major\u00a0development<\/span> to go forward when there are a handful or fewer of holdouts, who refuse to sell and<\/span> are blocking major projects.\u00a0 (Perhaps\u00a0there should be compensation\u00a0for emotional<\/span> damages for the taking of a homestead, in addition to Fair Market Value, with a jury<\/span> deciding and the new\u00a0private owner responsible for the payment.)<\/span><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

\"ooh\"\u00a0I went to bed last night thinking that our political system holds enough checks <\/span>and balances to keep this Kelo power from being abused.\u00a0 I woke up this morning,<\/span> however, remembering my prior postings on the folly of economic development<\/span> plans in the real world.\u00a0 For example <\/span>schmittle Italy<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 And, I recalled shenanighans<\/span> that seem to be part of most\u00a0“planning” and “development” decisions wherever<\/span> I look (reinforced by tales from my brother, whose legal practice focuses on<\/span> representing homeowners in zoning\/development disputes).\u00a0 So, I’m going to<\/span> repeat the opening sentences from my local schmocal<\/a> essay, and hope that<\/span> citizens\u00a0will\u00a0vigilantly\u00a0monitor their local officials\u00a0— ever skeptical about the<\/span> relationship of local pols and developers.<\/span><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
One very good<\/em> thing about our “let fifty labs operate” federalist <\/span><\/div>\n
system is that\u00a0states get to see what works in other places and\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
take advantage of the experience.\u00a0\u00a0 One very strange<\/em> part of the <\/span><\/div>\n
system, however, is that states never seem to learn from the mistakes<\/em> <\/span><\/div>\n
that happen elsewhere. \u00a0 And, one very weak<\/em> part of the system is <\/span><\/div>\n
that the labs are operated by local<\/em> governments. <\/span><\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n
\"SoldSignN\"\u00a0 <\/span><\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
Some political theorists and ideologues wax rhapsodic about <\/span><\/div>\n
decisions\u00a0<\/span>being made and problems being solved at the level closest to the <\/span><\/div>\n
people.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>But, when I think “local government” I tend to think — based mostly <\/span><\/div>\n
on <\/span>the seven or eight\u00a0cities of various sizes I’ve lived in over the past half <\/span><\/div>\n
century — “un-professional,” “sinecures,” “patronage,” “pay-back,” and <\/span><\/div>\n
“party hacks.”\u00a0 I do not<\/em> think “knowledgeable people likely to solve <\/span><\/div>\n
complicated problems.”\u00a0 <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Call me a cynic, but when it comes to economic development, I’m more likely to think<\/span> “the fix is in.”\u00a0\u00a0 Hold on to your wallets and <\/span>your deeds.\u00a0 <\/span><\/div>\n
\n