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Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg
Can they do that? And would it apply to mail order and interynet booksellers, or just to brick and mortar stores?
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They can.
They are the government.
And it's *their* money being spent on the common good. It would not even be a particularly extreme use of eminent domain. Local governments have "bought" property from people who don't want to sell and given it to others to use for commercial purposes. Don't want to get political, so lets just say that a certain political wing doesn't much believe in property rights and does believe in arbitrarily taking from some to give to others to ensure electoral loyalty.
With that as a background, asserting price controls and forcing a sale on their terms is well within precedent.
Most people like being on the receiving end of the government's largesse...
...until it is *their* largesse being given away.
Considering the leanings of the publishing industry rank and file this would be a fitting reminder of life in the real world.