Michael Lissack is helping “the public good” -- when what they are really doing is lining their own pockets. In the meantime, true needs go unanswered. My favorite example are owners of professional sports franchises who over the years have somehow managed to convince the political decision makers that the taxpayers are happy to provide them with dirt cheap real estate from which to make a profit. The move of the Dodgers to Los Angeles ushered in a new era, an era of “have pro team, will travel.” Teams that were making money relocated if they saw an opportunity to make more elsewhere. Or if they didn’t relocate, they threatened to do so, extorting a host of concessions from their home city in return for staying. Concessions included tax abatements, land and money for the construction of new stadiums, and commitments by the city to upgrade the streets and highways that led to the stadium. All told, such concessions frequently cost the cities many millions of dollars. The cities, though probably strapped for money already, felt they had no choice but to give in to the demands of the teams. The teams were so central to the social and cultural life of the cities that watching them leave was too painful, and most likely, too unpopular with the voters to contemplate. Even with concessions, teams might still move, abandoning stadiums and arenas with a rich history of their own in the central city for new antiseptic facilities in the suburbs. As the old and unique playing arenas were replaced by new arenas stamped from a common mold, a bit of each team’s particular history disappeared with them. And the lesson in all this from owners to players and fans was, “follow the money; business is business.” Why each of us has been supporting the ever escalating economics of sports teams is the subject of many another book, but it is worth noting that in effect we all provide a multi-billion dollar subsidy to a group of approxi- mately 50 multi-millionaires (or several thousand if you include the athletes as well as the owners). I don’t remember voting for this. And for your tax dollars you can stand in line to buy a $50 seat you have already paid for many times over. Well, thanks. There was the time that more than a few citizens of New Jersey traded a real improvement in life style for the mythical possibility of having a base- ball team say that New Jersey was its home. The quality of life in the Route
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