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June 16, 2008
one of the worst ideas ever: free stadiums for rich guys
While our beloved representatives on the local, state, and national level wail and moan about the children, the working poor, the homeless, and a growing panoply of victims groups, such as the transgendered left-handed, they fall all over themselves to push public subsidies for uber-rich white men who own professional sports franchises.
These sparkling temples of doom called stadiums promise so much, but deliver so little. They are, simply put, one of the worst possible uses of public money ever created by mankind. They are wrong on so many levels that you need a protractor and a compass just to keep up with the levels of wrongness.
Here, we'll tackle just a few... For starters, it irks me to no end that public money (my money!) is being used so that I can have the privilege of parking for $10, buying a ticket for $75, eating a hot dog for $5, and chasing it down with a brew for $7.50. If I paid for it, shouldn't it be free, or at least freaking reasonable?
Furthermore, I should receive a regular dividend based on the gate receipt and concession profits. At least that's the concept of ownership as I understand it. And if the public finances it, don't they own it? Apparently in this case, the public does not. Instead, we're treated to the visual of a billionaire owner sucking on the public teat (my teat!). It ain't pretty.
So let's get this straight... I own a franchise worth untold millions of dollars, plus licensing, television, and who knows what other rights, the aforementioned gate and concession dollars, and so on and so forth (not to mention I'm a billion-freaking-aire!), and I can't afford a stadium? Um, you might want to check your payroll to see if your operating expenses might be a wee bit out of whack, Amigo.
Meanwhile, let's say I operate a business that actually produces something of worth in the American economy, and I've determined that I need a new building to keep up with the competition. I contribute jobs, taxes, and cold hard cash to the community, don't I? Maybe the city should fork it over for a new building. Oh, that's right. I'm sorry! You don't own a sports franchise! Better luck next time!
The supporters of these stadium welfare programs will say that the extra revenue generated through tourism and so forth will offset the costs. Plus, the tax is either microscopic (1/100th of a penny on the dollar or whatever) or it's being charged to the tourist through taxes on hotels, rental cars, and whatever other services your typical tourist uses as they tour.
First off, the only people who benefit from a new stadium are rich people who watch rich people play a game in a stadium owned by a rich person. Perhaps there's someone down on their luck who can now sell cotton candy at the ball park, but I'm afraid that, in the grand scheme of things, it ain't making much of a difference.
Second, any tax is a bad tax. I don't care if it's me and my neighbors being taxed, or the poor slob who has to pay $200 for a hotel room and $150 for a rental car each day because some rich people decided that a rich guy needed help buying a stadium for his rich employees, a.k.a., players.
Frankly, I'm sick and tired of taxes. We all laugh at the Beatles' song Taxman, with the understanding that it's not quite as bad as John, Paul, George and Ringo painted it to be. But the sad fact is that the song becomes more real and relevant with each passing day.
So, the argument that the tax is so miniscule as to be unnoticeable is an absolute crock. That's how they get you; they chip away one one-hundreth at a time till half your salary is gone when you buy cotton candy at the ballpark.
Let's get back to the poor slob tourist for a moment. Does it ever occur to anyone that he/she might get sick and tired of the inflated prices, and the fact that they're paying for another city's stadium (though they're actually paying for some rich guy's stadium), and find another place to tour? Taxing the tourist is a counterproductive way of attracting tourism.
Joe Tourist and I are basically being punished because some billionaire owner can't run his business properly. So, in case you're wondering how I'll vote the next time some asinine stadium referendum comes up in my area, my vote will be, "Hell no!"
Posted by clubsoda at June 16, 2008 8:02 PM
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Comments
You got me stirred up!
Posted by: pat at June 20, 2008 2:40 PM