Reply #28: Three cents per twenty dollars is not a significant amount of money [View All]

[Lydia Leftcoast]

but in a sense, if the stadium proposal goes through, it will be taking money away from other public goods. The county could have imposed a three cent per twenty dollar sales tax to pay for county residents who have lost their medical insurance. It could have levied such a tax and used it to maintain bus routes in the county. It could have levied such a tax and contributed the revenues to local school districts. But these would have been deemed "impossible in the present political climate."

Instead, it chose to subsidize one private business. That's one private business owned by a fabulously rich man who could probably afford to pay the medical expenses of several hundred families per year. A new tax to benefit a billionaire who can then pretend that he has the best interests of the community in mind.

It's like a family that has a limited amount of money and is having to cut the budget all over the place. The family has dropped its health insurance. The family car is falling apart. The kids have given up hope of college. Then the father announces that he's going to take a second job. Is it to retain health insurance? Is it to buy a new car? Is it to save up for the kids' education? No, it's so that the father can buy state-of-the-art fishing equipment and a new boat. "We'll be able to eat the fish I catch!" he says.

"But you already have fishing tackle and a boat," say the family members. "They're old, but they still work. We already eat the fish that you catch."

"But I'll be supporting the bait and tackle store," he says. "I'll be supporting the boatworks at the lake, and the gas stations and restaurants and campgrounds on the way there. My buying new fishing equipment will be a net economic benefit to the region. And I'll take all of you fishing with me, which will be a lot of fun."

"But not all of us like to fish, and besides, what about our health care?"

"I'm not taking away your health care. My buying a new boat and fishing equipment won't cause your health care to disappear."

A parent who actually took such an attitude would be considered a selfish creep. A parent of a financially strapped family who took a second job could reasonably expected to spend the money on the family's most pressing needs, not on his or her own amusements.

The last thing on Carl Pohlad's mind is the "benefits to the region." Like many wealthy men, he wants a free market, except when there's a possible benefit to him. Economic benefits to the region? I recall how the Metrodome was going to revive the section of downtown where it's located. Just take a look at the area. It's still a mess. Where has all the "new economic development" occurred in the area of the Metrodome over the past twenty-some years? There's plenty of new economic development downtown, but it's nowhere near the Metrodome.

Yes, the new stadium is going to be near the light rail line--which in its present state is useful to only a small percentage of potential attendees. Where are the rest going to park? Downtown is already choked with traffic. Two weeks ago, it took me fifty minutes to get from Linden Hills to Block E by bus on a Friday night--twenty minutes behind schedule, all due to standstill traffic generated by multiple events. The idea of adding another major entertainment venue to the area around Hennepin--well, let's just say that driving downtown would become its own punishment, even more so than today.

There's something about pro sports that makes fans lose their sense of perspective.