Is Eminent Domain to Write Down Mortgages Unconstitutional? A Mandelman Matters Podcast

This is Part 4 of a series of Mandelman Matters Podcasts with Professor Robert Hockett of Cornell University Law School.  He’s the author of, “The Municipal Plan,” which describes why and how a city could use the power of eminent domain to take over loans and write them down for homeowners… it’s the plan now being considered by 26 cities across the country.

Bring this topic up almost anywhere and chances are that someone will immediately call it unconstitutional… but is it? 

Well, in Part 4, Professor Hockett will very specifically address the constitutional issues… it’s obviously not the first time he’s considered the question… and why he thinks the whole issue of constitutionality is nothing more than a bluff.

We’ll also hear about FDR’s administration, which also faced a foreclosure crisis that had started in the latter part of the 1920s, and we’ll find out how his administration addressed the problem back then.  Although the problem is very much the same, the solutions were certainly very different than what we’ve done since 2008.

Professor Hockett will also talk about whether the opposition is likely to be able to “tie up the plan in the courts for years,” which is another statement I often hear from people on both sides of the debate.  Spoiler alert… Professor Hockett says that’s not going to happen.

And we’ll talk about the financial aspect of implementing the plan, where the money will come from and why he is sure that it will actually represent a win-win for everyone involved.

This is the most hotly debated issue of the foreclosure crisis, and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to hear the details straight from the man who not only authored the plan, but who today is consulting with cities across the country as they decide whether it will be right for them.

He’s appeared on CNBC, and been interviewed by The New York Times, Time Magazine, BusinessWeek, and countless others… now he’s here with an in-depth discussion on this Mandelman Matters Podcast.

This podcast is divided into two parts… SIDE A and SIDE B, in order to make it easier to divide up your listening time… each side is 30 minutes long, give or take, and I can’t decide which side I like better, so you should listen to both.

Turn your speakers up and CLICK the ‘A’ or ‘B’ side to PLAY below.  

By the way… you won’t find this kind of coverage of issues like this one anywhere else, so why not SUBSCRIBE to Mandelman Matters?  You’ll never miss an important article or podcast again, it only takes about 20 seconds, and it’s free… so for what are you waiting?  

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Mandelman out.