The new round of stadium funding discussions is very concerning and almost unbelievable (except that they keep coming back every year, so we should be used to them by now). The public's consensus (NO public money for a stadium) has been completely disregarded AGAIN. I was shocked when I saw the County come in with a plan, a backdoor Minneapolis plan (what does a stadium have to do with county priorities?). A tax on anything (except on very direct items such as ticket sales, stadium concession sales and player incomes) or a low interest loan is theft from the general fund of any level of government. Particularly disturbing is the notion that a tax on downtown restaurants is a tax on stadium users (do studies really show that downtown eating is dependent on stadium goers?). Downtown eating should not be the victim of a new stadium.
If the baseball and football industry do not choose to spend their profits on new stadia, do not put the burden on the taxpayer. Such a subsidy is no different from any other subsidy to a corporation (e.g., downtown Target), a pivotal issue in getting us a new Mayor. Mayor, do not waffle on the stadium issue. Your firm leadership is critical here - no public money for a stadium. You need to say it for the public to hear. You campaigned on it. The most dreadful outcome of all is the lost opportunity to address the real priorities of the city, county and state, namely affordable housing, transportation, education, among others. If there is any opportunity to raise taxes of any kind, then it should be done to fund our stated priorities. And to think that public funding for a stadium is still being considered in a time of budget cuts in these priorities. Why can't the kind of energy that is going into thinking of how to subsidize wealthy baseball and football interests go into thinking of how to subsidize housing to make it affordable? Jeanne Massey Ward 10, Kingfield > > _______________________________________ > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
