When Should [sic] the Federal Government Own Land?
9th January 2017
Tyler Cowen, a Real Economist, takes a gander.
Overall, I don’t see why the federal government needs to own about 28% of the country. Nonetheless, in the meantime the government does allow grazing and mining to take place on those lands, often at below-market rents. (By the way, for now I am putting on hold a possible #6: “federal land ownership is the most efficient way to regulate mining and fossil fuel extraction.” It raises issues far beyond the scope of the current discussion, though it is significant.)