Oh, come on, Chris! I don't know much about property management (only partially owning one 90+ year-old house), but even I know this is a silly argument.> /As stated many time before - after 120 years of rent it's about time WE > OWN IT. And it is not the same pot of money as our programming funds.
It's time you own it? Why, just because you say so? Is there something inherently immoral about leasing? The vast majority of corporations lease their office space, you know. Even the large ones. . . . Chris Johnson
Businesses lease rather than own because they can deduct those lease payments from their taxes. Public Libraries do not have tax deductions, so for them it is much cheaper to own the buildings.
P.S. And when businesses lease properties, often they sell the property they own to a shell corporation made up of themselves or their buddies, and then lease it back at high prices. We've plenty of examples of Enron, MCI/Global Crossings, etc. doing that recently. And that was one of the more minor of their financial con games.
Tim Bonham, Ward 12, Standish-Ericsson
TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.)
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