David Shove wrote: It is the power of the developers. One way or another, the rich are going to get our money and our land and our possessions, no matter what we or democracy say. Arrogant lawlessness. We can hand it to them today or we can hand it to them tomorrow. The black hats rule. Until we get into the streets.
Peter Vevang writes:
There are more sides to this debate than simply black hats vs. white hats. I wear a twins hat from time to time. Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so. You seem to be saying that all people who disagree with you are all bad people that suck up to developers, there is no middle ground, and that we 'black hats' inevitably gorge ourselves at the taxpayer trough. That is what I am being led to believe if I follow your argument.
I am for a Twins stadium because I like outdoor baseball and think that a .15% tax is cheap to get it. Outdoor baseball has an intangible benefit to the community that I appreciate. I think it is worth the cost. I have only seen the people of Minnesota completely united 3 times in my lifetime, 1987, 1991 and 9/11. What is that worth, what was the cost? If a stadium is built, I expect the quality of the game to dramatically improve. I think the game will be exciting again outdoors. It will be a great community and family event, without violence or noxious advertising, just green grass and the crack of the bat.
I support this stadium proposal for what I think are legitimate reasons. I don't consider myself a black hat. I am not like that, I am just an average person, I try to be honest. I have never met Pohlad. I have not gorged myself at taxpayer expense. The weight I have gained is from frozen pizzas and beer, not caviar and champaign. Your argument is false in my case. I don't think you have a credible position when you simply slime everyone that disagrees with you and don't address the issue. I support this because I believe it is in the public interest, not because I like billionaires.
At the root of your argument is the issue of money. This deal is not taking money away from police, schools or fire, those are separately funded, and it is political will at the State, not economics, that is hurting our city budgets. Supporting a Twins stadium will not abolish private property or institute a regime of corporate domination requiring us to "get into the streets". I believe that the Twins should not be banned from turning a reasonable profit. The costs of the actual building seems reasonable or affordable when benchmarked against similar projects elsewhere. The public contribution is similar to many other small market stadium projects. The public contribution is fair and comensurate with the benefits of a stadium. Saying that all developers are slime ("arrogant and lawless") and everyone who stands with them is also slime is unfair. Using that methodology to indict the entire political, social and economic establishment is overreaching in a dramatic way that is not supported by evidence or a reasonable argument.
As far as Carl Pohlad making money off of this, he is old and grey and bent, his time left is short, and he might not be around to benefit from a theoretical windfall you predict. This will be his last great project probably, and he probably wants to be remembered as someone that made a contribution to this state. I don't see him trying to screw the taxpayers, he doesn't have a motive to do that. I don't see the malice you do, I just don't see it.
This is a different situation than past proposals, it is a much fairer deal and is more reasonably priced. I see this as a matter of civic pride, and a celebration of the most positive aspects of American culture and Minnesota culture. This will have a positive impact on Minneapolis. I think that is a good thing. It lifts people up. It is well worth the cost. I think this proposal will benefit the people of Minneapolis greatly. We should do it. It is in the public interest.
Peter Vevang Audubon
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