The Fifth Amendment says that the government must pay just compensation when it takes private property for public use, a command that, regrettably, is often treated as a mere suggestion. On this episode, we take a look at a variety of gambits and flim-flammeries that let the government take property without paying for it.
Click here for episode transcript.
Resources
Gideon Kanner and Michael Berger, The Nasty, Brutish, and Short Life of Agins v. Tiburon
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