Eminent Domain: Unconstitutional and Inefficient
The core idea of discussion in the article is the Eminent Domain and relating to it climate-forcing and how the grant of eminent domain to a foreign company is unconstitutional and inefficient and also briefly refers to externalization cost of Tar-Sand oil. The author begins his discussion as how people look forward to the government to reduce climate-forcing by ending its subsidization. He cites eminent domain as one such example that should be ended. The government offices including the high court have inconsistent rulings over Eminent Domain and they cite that the concept of eminent domain should only be used on public goods and only for public use. He also predominantly tries to identify all such subsidies that increase the climate forcing and distort the market and one such example is the gift of the governmental power of eminent domain to the foreign owned company which builds Keystone Pipeline. The author cites that the eminent domain transferred to the company can result in disequilibrium in the land market as then they will be legally authorized to avoid the fair market prices and the landowners will be forced to sell their land at the prices below than the fair market prices. Hence, not only fair market mechanism will be disturbed but also induces the customers to use the land, more and carelessly than they would have if they had to pay the fair market prices for the land. Overall, the author in his article talks very briefly about ‘if there is or isn’t there any anthropogenic climate forcing going in the world’ and is more concerned with the concept of eminent domain distorting the fair market price.
As for the impact of the issue, the concept of eminent domain indeed acts as a distorter of the fair market activity as even the courts have still failed to see the difference between a forced sale and a willing sale. Thus, the eminent domain concept will not only add inefficiency to the economy but also deprive the house owners from the fair market prices of their property.
Works Cited
Newbold, Ed. Eminent domain an unconstitutional subsidy for Keystone XL. 28 April 2014. 2 June 2014 <http://ednewbold.com/eminent-domain-an-unconstitutional-subsidy-for-keystone-xl/>.
