I doubt that any of the senators on the committee asked Mayor Perez if there is any evidence that eminent domain seizures for “economic development” actually promote economic development. The politicians assert that just because some new, glitzy thing replaces old homes and shops, that means that the city has enjoyed economic development. But is it true? I think it would be an excellent topic for a scholarly paper to carefully examine a number of cases where Kelo-type seizures have been done and look to see what, if any, impact it has had on the standard of living of the people. My guess is that these economic development projects often fail to produce any widespread benefits.