New Frontiers in Wealth Redistribution

Radley Balko | April 13, 2009

George Will urges the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down an Illinois law that may be the next step in post-bailout, post-Kelo America: direct transfer of the profits of successful industries to the accounts of those that are failing. The Illinois law attempts to prop up the state's sagging horse racing industry by requiring the state's four most profitable casinos to simply hand over 3 percent of gross receipts to Illinois' horse racing tracks. The bill was recently upheld by the state's supreme court.

Will writes:

What is to prevent legislators from taking revenue from Wal-Mart and giving it to local retailers? Or from chain drugstores to local pharmacies? Not the tattered remnant of the Constitution's takings clause.

The Fifth Amendment says that private property shall not "be taken for public use without just compensation" (emphasis added). Fifty state constitutions also stipulate taking only for public uses. But the Illinois Supreme Court ignored the public-use question. Instead, the court said it is "well settled" that the takings clause applies only to government's exercise of its eminent domain power regarding land, buildings and other tangible or intellectual property -- but not money...

Suppose Congress, eager to aid newspapers hurt by competition from new information technologies, decides to take a percentage of the assets of Bill Gates and half a dozen other beneficiaries of those technologies and give the money to newspapers. Would not this "take and transfer" scheme be unconstitutional? Targeting specific, identifiable persons or entities for unfavorable treatment, and transferring their assets to equally identifiable persons or entities, surely also raises equal protection issues. Unquestionably a legislature can impose a levy on casinos if the revenue becomes subject to what the state legislators' brief calls "allocation via the familiar push and pull of political decision-making." But Illinois' confiscation of riverboat revenue is a private-pockets-to-private-pockets transfer, without even laundering the money through the state treasury.

So how many months before we see one or more items from Will's parade of horribles turn up in actual legislation?

Comments

|4.13.09 @ 3:26PM|#

Isn't what IL is doing now enough? I mean, really, this sounds like a worst case scenario example. Isn't this case bad enough?

Fist of Etiquette|4.13.09 @ 3:27PM|#

The Fifth Amendment says that private property shall not "be taken for public use without just compensation" (emphasis added).

Anyone else wondering if we could have benefited from the Framers adding their own italics to certain phrases in the Constitution?

Spoonman|4.13.09 @ 3:34PM|#

"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right to bear arms shall not be infringed."

Xeones|4.13.09 @ 3:36PM|#

I'm really coming around to the idea that the recent (alleged?) bump in sales of Atlas Shrugged was from bureaucrats looking for an instruction manual. Fuck.

|4.13.09 @ 3:38PM|#

The Fifth Amendment says that private property shall not "be taken for public use without just compensation" (emphasis added).

Given this, how can "just compensation" be given to anyone whom is forced to hand over money? Wouldn't "just compensation" have to be exactly equal to the amount of money that they're taking in that case? In other words, if they take $100M from the Casinos, shouldn't they have to give them $100M as just compensation?

Paul|4.13.09 @ 3:38PM|#

This can't be a question of "property transfers". Money isn't property. All of your money is the government's. It's just a matter of where and how it gets distributed.

creech|4.13.09 @ 3:39PM|#

How about the public gets to confiscate the property of any failed politician? That being defined as one who, instead of resigning or not standing for re-election, gets beat for re-election by a non-incumbent.

Paul|4.13.09 @ 3:40PM|#

In other words, if they take $100M from the Casinos, shouldn't they have to give them $100M as just compensation?

No, that precedent is already set. They can take your $350,000 home, and hand you $90,000 in "just compensation". It didn't say "equal compensation".

z|4.13.09 @ 3:45PM|#

I don't know the specifics of this case, and I suspect G. Will doesn't either. But many states wrote into the law authorizing slots or casinos that some revenue from the slots would go to horse racing. Is this a case of the Illinois casinos opening with full knowledge of the horse racing transfer and now after the fact trying to get that clause striken?

Jeff P|4.13.09 @ 3:45PM|#

Horse-racing is an industry?

Paul|4.13.09 @ 3:51PM|#

Horse-racing is an industry?

in the mind of the government official-- or for that matter-- your garden variety progressive, anything which earns money is an "industry", and therefore should be subject to regulation, taxation and, yes, special privileges.

|4.13.09 @ 3:52PM|#

...and I had just convinced myself that we weren't living in a Rand novel.

Mark A Tarnowski|4.13.09 @ 3:58PM|#

"post-Kelo America"

Speaking of post-Kelo America, the city of Minneapolis is proposing the removal of 250-300 affordable homes (mostly single family houses) in order to create a lake. Right, because if there's one thing Minneapolis needs, it's another fucking lake.

http://www.camdenews.org/news/info.nsf/Get+CCN+Article/Front+Page_Shingle+Creek+Lake!opendocument

Gilbert Martin|4.13.09 @ 3:58PM|#

"Instead, the court said it is "well settled" that the takings clause applies only to government's exercise of its eminent domain power regarding land, buildings and other tangible or intellectual property -- but not money..."

So I guess if I swiped the wallets of those judges, they'd have no legitimate complaint since according to their own logic, money is not really property and hence it never actually belonged to them in the first place.

Paul|4.13.09 @ 4:12PM|#

Right, because if there's one thing Minneapolis needs, it's another fucking lake.

They have to maintain their image, you know.

|4.13.09 @ 4:13PM|#

"""The Fifth Amendment says that private property shall not "be taken for public use without just compensation" (emphasis added)."""

But when did this doesn't apply to fees or taxes? The government can, and does charge fees for the purpose of giving the money to others. HELLO USF CHARGES ON MY PHONE BILL!!!!! I would love for SCOTUS to say it's uncontitutional.

|4.13.09 @ 4:20PM|#

So how many months before we see one or more items from Will's parade of horribles turn up in actual legislation?

When did the TARP-1 bailout get passed? November? Then I'd say about -5 months ago.

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." How's that working out?

|4.13.09 @ 4:22PM|#

Holy crap. If ever there was a business that requires bankruptcy, it's a horse race track that loses money.

I'll say this for IL pols. at least they are right up front about their corruption and ties to organized crime.

|4.13.09 @ 4:29PM|#

Right out of Atlas Shrugged. . .

Illannoyed|4.13.09 @ 4:38PM|#

Well, they're not taking the property for public use. So they don't have to provide just compensation!

|4.13.09 @ 5:18PM|#

This is the the compromise solution to the request of horse racing venues to allow slot machines and other gaming at horse racing tracks.

No Name Guy|4.13.09 @ 5:20PM|#

They had to rule the way they did.

Think about it - if the clowns on the IL court said the legislature can't take money out of one persons pocket and hand it to another person, then the whole edifice of the liberal state - welfare, social security, and all the other transfer payments (yes, even corporate welfare such as farm subsidies, TARP, etc). would rightfully found to be an unconstitutional enslavement of the taxed for the benefit of the recipient.

Can't have that, now, can we? So, well just say money isn't property

|4.13.09 @ 6:14PM|#

Horse tracks are a license to print money, but I've worked at one. It might not be the crookedest industry, but it's got to be high on the fucking list. Everywhere you turn there are missed opportunities for revenue and mountains of cash flushed down the toilets of inefficiency. In order to cover their own corruption and skimming, the owners had no money supply chain of custody and no accounting procedures in place. Everyone that worked there, from the parking lot attendants to the paramutuals, stole money. And they all stole from each other as well. Just disgraceful. Being surrounded by thieves sucked ass.

|4.13.09 @ 6:39PM|#

Gambling addiction also is increasing among U.S. military personnel, hampering readiness, according to the series, which includes decades of academic and government research on the financial perils of gambling.

I am forced to assume the good professor is not a veteran.* On every ship, every base, in every theater of operations the military personnel are gambling. This is of course a recent phenomenon dating only back to the fucking bronze age.

* Well, maybe he was a knee deep sailor or an Air Farce pussy.

Paul|4.13.09 @ 7:42PM|#

Horse tracks are a license to print money

Apparently not when the state runs them:

The Illinois law attempts to prop up the state's sagging horse racing industry

|4.13.09 @ 7:47PM|#

Let's make sure we have the facts right first, hmmm? After all, the only source linked is George Will, Serial Liar (R). LOL

Is the race track state-run? Did Will utterly misunderstand the case and it's ruling?

|4.13.09 @ 7:55PM|#

God damn, we are a even yet still farther down the path to annihilation than I thought. When will people stop scoffing at the suggestion that we might, maybe, just be a little bit socialist in the good ol' USA.

|4.13.09 @ 9:29PM|#

Let's make sure we have the facts right first, hmmm? After all, the only source linked is George Will, Serial Liar (R). LOL

Is the race track state-run? Did Will utterly misunderstand the case and it's ruling?


A) How much of George Will's writing have you ACTUALLY READ?

B) If the racetrack was state run, that would make this okay, how?

|4.13.09 @ 9:31PM|#

What's wrong with me. I forgot to ask ... why the heck is the state running a racetrack that LOSES MONEY.

Jesus, governments can't do anything right, can they?

They can't even run a gambling den that makes money.

|4.13.09 @ 11:17PM|#

And Rick Sanchez has the balls to act shocked when people are buying guns and ammo at record rates because we think we might need to revolt? Every day the hits keep coming, and that asshole is aghast at the uproar. People are gonna start dumping politicians bodies in waterways across America instead of tea.

And for good reason. Get the tar, I'll bring the feathers.

Hugh Akston|4.14.09 @ 12:07AM|#

Y'know, it's been awhile, but I could swear that something like this happened in either Atlas Shrugged or the Fountainhead.

JB|4.14.09 @ 2:28AM|#

I say we take politicians into the street and beat them. I would pay to see that.

economist|4.14.09 @ 12:14PM|#

"Jesus, governments can't do anything right, can they?"

Well, they're good at pissing me off.

Invisible Finger|4.14.09 @ 4:35PM|#

The Fifth Amendment says that private property shall not "be taken for public use

Well, they aren't taking it for public use - they're taking it for private use.