Catch-22 and Property Rights

Abstract

Almost everone knows Catch-22 situations where the inherenct logic of something creates an absurdity or self-contridiction. Author Joesph Heller's original was a military rule designed to thwart airmen from pleading insanity to escape bombing missions--the rule said any airman rational enough to want to be grounded could not possibly be insane and therefore had to fly. Such is the situation with property rights. Since 1987, several Supreme Court decisions have strengthened the substantive rights of property owners, making it a little more difficult for local, state, and federal agencies to impose sensless regulations. One case probides that land owners may seek monetary compensation when regulations go too far.

Citation

Flick, Warren A. 1998. Catch-22 and Property Rights. Alabama Forests, Vol. 42, No. 4, Fall 1998