Amen, huzzah, and right on! -David Shove Roseville
On Fri, 2 Dec 2005, Gary Hoover wrote: > Jeremy W. scribes, in part: > >>> > One question that I have for both the pro- and anti-stadium crowd is why we > can't hang the public obligation for a new stadium on ticket prices? The > Twins average about 1.9 million fans a year. Maybe 2 million with a new > ball park. (Everyone involved with building the dome need not apply.) 2 > million folks, over ten years taxed an average of $10 per head rounds out to > $200 million. Set a progressive ticket tax rate, a $9 ticket becomes a $12 > ticket and a $44 ticket goes to $75, something like that. I recognize that > a bond would have to be floated and the ticket taxes used to repay the debt. > I also have not figured in the financing. Nevertheless, what are the > challenges to having the 2 million people who would most appreciate a new > stadium pay for it? > <<< > > Jeremy's suggestion of a progressive ticket tax to pay for the Twins (or > any?) new pro-sports stadium to me. > > It is also the most "Free Market" suggestion going. Let the Twins figure > our what people are willing to pay for various seats and amenities, and work > within that budget to get commercial financing. > > The corporate socialism of America is so glaringly obvious when it comes to > professional sports. Free marketeers begin whining at the thought that > sports might have to operate like a real business or change the plan > altogether to fit a new "market." > > The second, more profound issue is that we continue to waste time and money > and energy focused on building anti-sustainable structures that will be > obsolete very soon due to high energy costs of operation. Natural gas price > has quintupled in the last three years or so and is likely to climb higher. > Meanwhile, people are likely to have less discretionary money to spend in > the coming years, not more. We will spend more on necessities and less on > the distractions that have become so prominent in our short-lived Energy > Binge economy. Professional sports as we know them have become a > steroid-saturated monstrosity, and will not be sustainable in any way. > > So why talk of investing public dollars in pro-sports at all? Let us > "starve the corporate welfare beast, or at least shrink it down to such a > size that we can drown it in the bathtub." > > Better to pursue real economic development by investing in sustainable urban > infrastructure without all the vestigial anti-sustainable structures choking > the landscape and starving our budgets. > > -- pedaling for peace and ecojustice -- Gary Hoover > > 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:mpls@mnforum.org > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > 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:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
