This week, the state government of Minnesota pledged to take $1 billion (give or take) of taxpayer money and spend it on … a gift to the 1 percent. Specifically, the money is meant to buy a stadium for the Minnesota Vikings, a team owned by a multimillionaire real estate developer, and the NFL, a league with annual revenues of $9 billion per year. In […]
Corporate welfare
More on stadium madness
Today the Minnesota House is expected to vote on whether to send taxpayer money to the NFL and its team in the state, the Vikings. While some political observers I respect have said that the vote will be no, I doubt that: Never underestimate the power of the office of the governor (who wants the project), trade unions (ditto), and emotion in politics (“the Vikings […]
Wear Facepaint for Commerce, not Sports Welfare
The sight of people donning replica jerseys to lobby their elected officials to force some taxpayers to pay for their hobby makes me a bit sad: “Don’t you have a life,” I quietly ask. But I think I’ve found the hints of a silver lining in that passion: Perhaps this is a point for us to remember that commerce–freely and successfully conducted–is a beautiful thing […]
Will fires finish Finnish Fisker?
The electric car market is expanding and diversifying. It’s not just the Chevy Volt that is catching fire these days. A model produced by a company in Finland – with U.S. “stimulus” dollars – is being recalled because of a fire hazard. OK, I shouldn’t be too hard on the luxury car. Trusty old gas-powered cars can catch on fire too, and new products are prone […]
NFL Should Buy Vikings a Stadium
With $9.3 billion in annual revenue, the NFL could afford to buy the Minnesota Vikings a stadium. When Sports Illustrated crunched the numbers in March 2011, it estimated that the NFL is a $9.3 billion-a-year enterprise. That’s almost as much money as flows to Major League Baseball, the NBA, and the NHL combined. About half of the NFL’s money comes from media rights (broadcast, cable, etc.). One […]
Pay Up For Your Purple Delusions
Are Minnesotans doomed to hand over $400-$500 million to a man whose financial worth is twice that amount? Tom Powers, sports columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, recently wrote about the prospects of a new taxpayer-paid stadium for the Wilf Vikings. The headline tells it all: “Like it or not, you will be paying for a new football stadium.” I have to admit that […]
Did Tom Emmer punt on Vikings stadium question?
On a recent weekend, I listened to an interview of Tom Emmer (conducted by Mitch Berg) that left me disappointed. The question arose of whether Emmer supported corporatism, or as anyone else would put it, “doing something to help the Vikings stay in Minnesota.” From what I recall, Emmer punted. To paraphrase the Republican nominee, he does not favor funding a stadium through the State […]
Keeping These Teams is Too Expensive
In the run-up to Saturday’s election in Louisiana, one candidate for the state senate lambasted her opponent for supporting the use of taxpayer dollars to support the New Orleans Saints. According to ESPN, “she said the team needed defensive backs, offensive linemen and a backup running back more than state money.” I don’t follow the NFL that much, let alone the Saints, but she is right […]