Bernstein's argument that I can't have a choice between stadium and public schools is classic political rhetoric to me. When certain projects or programs get funded while basic needs like public safety and education are being cut, the argument is that the money is from "this" budget not "that" one or it's this branch of government responsible not that one. Well, if my vacation budget is flush but my utilities budget is busted, I transfer the funds to pay the utilities instead of eliminating utilities from my budget like our government seems to. Oddly enough, my utilities budget is always busted and I have no control over the rising costs of that either.
Color me naive, but why can't government do this? Why can't the County help out the State and the State help out the City ... why are they all so fractured and battling one another? Guess who's losing on this deal? We are .... the people that these officials are supposed to be working for! But all I ever hear is passing the buck. And look who's winning ..... the rich man once again. My point is that if our government can raise taxes to build a private baseball stadium for a very wealthy businessman and is very well-paid employees, why can't we raise taxes to fund education and public safety. This is misplaced priorities, in my opinion. We should be funding our future with education and public safety, among other things, instead of giving money to a man who doesn't need it! How am I going to reap any benefits from building a stadium? I won't .... but our quality of life would most certainly be improved fewer criminals on the streets and more educated young people! >From my experience in volunteering in an elementary school and my conversations with employees of the Mpls Public School System, we are failing to provide our young people with the education they deserve. And in proposing to fund this private stadium for a very rich man who can most certainly afford to build it himself while at the same time cutting education and the police force, to me it shows a complete lack of priorities. Our young people are the future .... the Minnesota Twins are not. The arguments in favor of publicly funding this stadium are ridiculous, in my opinion. So it'll bring in more jobs? What about all the jobs that exist now around the Dome and Timberwolves stadium? They're all pretty much minimum wage with little or no opportunity for advancement. How is that helping? I'm told this stadium will provide work for construction workers ... but that's only temporary and I find it hard to believe there's a need for much more construction work when I see all sorts of new projects being built. I believe my right to publicly criticize our elected officials is afforded me in the constitution and I'll retain that right until I go to my grave ..... it's a crooked deal when the average citizen is being asked to pay for a private business deal that they will not benefit from. It's crooked because it's not necessary and it won't improve the quality of life for the average citizen. We don't need this stadium and we don't need to pay for it. And it's crooked because the chair of the board said that if it were put to a referendum, it wouldn't pass -- meaning they all know the citizens don't want it so we're going to find a way to get it through without their approval. Circumventing public opinion like that is crooked, in my opinion. If it's such a good thing for our community, let Pohlad take the risks and pay for it and be a hero for bringing economic development and jobs to the city. I'd contribute to erect a statue in his honor for that. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Connie Beckers - Folwell 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
