Rich, White Property Owners Disproportionately Hurt by Eminent Domain Abuse
Just kidding. A new report from the Institute for Justice finds that residents of areas targeted for private economic development projects that rely on eminent domain are poorer, less educated, and less likely to be white than people in surrounding communities. In 184 areas where the use of eminent domain was approved, the median income was about $19,000, 34 percent of adults had less than a high school diploma, and 58 percent of residents were members of minority groups. The corresponding numbers for nearby neighborhoods were $23,000, 24 percent, and 45 percent, respectively.
Such differences are not only not surprising; they are pretty much inevitable if the criterion for condemning a property is whether it can be put to a "higher use"—i.e., one that generates more tax revenue or creates more jobs. As Justice Sandra Day O'Connor noted in her dissent from the Supreme Court's endorsement of such takings in Kelo v. New London, "extending the concept of public purpose to encompass any economically beneficial goal guarantees that these losses will fall disproportionately on poor communities." Not to mention the fact that it's easier for developers to force sales when the owners have little political influence and few resources to put up a fight.
Update: Thanks to jh's sharp eye, I've fixed the order of the numbers in the last sentence of the first paragraph.