Document Type

Article

Abstract

As one examines the ways in which we have chosen to respond to claims of individuals and firms to compensation from the federal administration, one is immediately struck by the rapid rate of growth in the number of claims and the magnitude of the compensation that has been sought in recent years. What is even more dramatic, however, is the shift in the focus of our attention away from low-level bureaucratic activity, and towards alleged administrative failures to ensure air traffic safety, combat international terrorism, regulate financial institutions, protect the interests of businesses in international trade negotiations, privatize the delivery of goods and services, and design mass transit systems. It has become obvious that regulatory activity and especially regulatory change almost always costs us; compensation claims represent one response to regulatory change, and the way we choose to respond to those claims reflects our attitudes to private property, individual rights, individual welfare, and collective action.

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