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I think part of the problem folks have with this kind of financial help is
its directness. Indirect subsidies such as Tom mentions are more easily seen
as a public good. Other examples of indirect subsidies are the use of our
public streets to generate private income for billboard companies and the
use of our river to generate 3M annually for ford at its hydro plant. Brian
Bates MacGroveland.
Tom Goldstein / Elysian Fields Quarterly wrote:
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I think it's fine for Mitch and Debra to have a healthy skepticism
of a deal that benefits a private enterprise, especially one that is struggling
financially. And sure, David Unowsky made a number of bad business decisions
that have contributed to Ruminator's current situation. But before Mitch
gets too far up on his high horse, I might point out that the building project
that houses the Bound to be Read bookstore at Victoria and Grand was heavily
subsidized by the city (a store owned by Stanley Hubbard's daughter, hardly
someone who needs the city's help). And need I mention all the money that
Norm Coleman handed out during his eight years in office, involving hundreds
of millions of dollars? You know, Lawson Software built for $110 million,
sold to Frauenschuch Companies for $56 million, etc., while all those jobs
that Lawson was supposed to create keep disappearing month after month.
So if the city wants to make what Mitch calls a "risky" loan in the neighborhood
of $100,000, so what? This is peanuts compared to what's been thrown around
for far more risky projects (i.e., all those downtown vacancies, all the
revenue that the city has given up by allowing the Wild to control all the
event money for Xcel Energy Center, etc.) in this city, and believe it or
not, I think it's okay for the city to invest money in a place that's provided a
lot of cultural enrichment for thousands upon thousands of folks the past
thirty years. I might also add that it's not like the City is bailing Ruminator
out. There's over $100,000 that's been raised from private individuals,
as well as several other financing sources that have been tapped, unlike
what happens when the city's bonding authority becomes the sole mechanism
for funding these major downtown projects that are simply handouts for well-funded
corporate donors who don't need the assistance.
When Ruminator asks the city for millions of dollars, then you can
raise eyebrows and complain about the lack of equal treatment or favoritism
towards only certain businesses in town. But I could find the amount of
money that Ruminator needs in attorneys fees that the city paid out to do
the Wild Arena deal, so this is really a disingenuous comparison. Ruminator
is admittedly a place where progressives feel more at home than City Hall
or Barnes & Noble, but you know what, if you look at the voting in the
last election, this is an overwhelmingly democratic city. Why can't the
people who are in the majority get something they want once in a while,
as opposed to all the backroom deals that suck away the downtown property
tax base?
Tom Goldstein
Mac-Groveland
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2004 10:25 AM
Subject: Re: [StPaul] City Loan for Ruminator Books
I was about to write about this.
I have always loved shopping at Hungry Mind, and then at the Ruminator. It
is one of my favorite bookstores around (since Odegaards finally tanked).
But let's be straight about this: This is not just a "low-interest" loan,
it's a *high risk* loan - as in nearly zero chance of being repaid. Owner
David Unowski has made a lot of stupid, disastrous decisions, and squandered
an unbelievable amount of money at a time when the bookstore market is,
to say the least, changing. And it could involve more than a loan - Jay
Benanav wants to *give* the store $50K STAR grant, from sales-tax funds.
OK - so everyone who gasps in horror at the thought of supporting business
through TIF, or giving money to sports teams for stadiums - it's time for
an integrity check here. Does the city have the right, much less the need,
to bail out a private business whose only real problem is a complete inability
to run a successful business in a changing market?
Further question: Does anyone think, in a million years, that Jay Benavav
would be flying to the aid, Council Ex Machina, of a bookstore that was
not noted as a huge supporter of acceptively "progressive" causes? That
featured readings by P.J. O'Rourke and Ann Coulter instead of Al Franken
and Michael Moore?
Not a chance.
Local bloggers Fraters Libertas have written about this at greater depth.
http://www.fraterslibertas.com/2004_01_01_archive.html#107496238800295579
No loan. No way.
Mitch Berg
English major, outraged taxpayer
Da Midway!
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