Ed Kohler wrote: <snip> 4. HOWEVER, I haven't seen numbers from the anti-stadium crowd to justify their cause either. Yes, big numbers are thrown out about the costs, but the perspective of those numbers mean nothing to me. Explain to me in terms I can understand (and that the media can regurgitate) that we're taking a hit on this deal.
Mark Anderson replies: I don't know the details of this very well. But what I do know of is the economist (in Chicago I think?) who has shown that no community comes out ahead economically when they invest in a stadium, at least when it comes to the hard, quantifiable costs. This is just one economist, and he could be wrong. But I've seen no serious rebuttals by pro-stadium advocates, so my guess is that he's pretty close to the truth. That by itself is good enough evidence for me to be against any government spending on stadiums. Because of this economist's study, most stadium advocates these days concentrate on the soft benefits, eg. "we don't want to be just a cold Omaha," or "professionals won't want to relocate here if there are no professional sports here," or just "it gives our city and state a lot more status if we have well-known professional teams." Well, I don't buy any of these arguments, except that Minnesota is more known for its sports teams than for anything else. But I don't think it's a proper use of taxpayer's dollars to create fame. Continuously for the last ten years, it seems that a majority of the politicians in the state want the public to build a stadium, even as the majority of voters have felt otherwise. This is even politicians that we've voted for partially because of their positions not to build these edifices, such as Rybak. I've been trying to figure this out, and the only thing I can come up with is that the stadium is more valuable to the big shots than it is to the rest of us. A politician feels most successful when he or she gets notice from the national media. A political writer in Washington or New York will notice a politician in Minnesota more than one from Nebraska just because he or she has heard of the Twins, Vikings, or Timberwolves. The teams not only give status to Minnesota, they give status to the politicians from Minnesota. This is just one more example showing that politicians and the folks who vote them in have inherently different objectives. Another reason we need initiative and referendum. Mark V Anderson Bancroft REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
