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> The moon landings were successful and also a waste of money As long as we have colleges and universities pour money into sports, taxpayer subsidized NFL s

by mcny 3y ago

> The moon landings were successful and also a waste of money As long as we have colleges and universities pour money into sports, taxpayer subsidized NFL stadiums (not having to pay taxes is also a subsidy, we don't have to hand them buckets of cash, just waiving taxes is taxpayer subsidy) and really any corporate welfare at all I don't want to hear how investing in science is a waste of money.

Bostonian 3y ago
Wasting money in some ways is not a good reason to waste it in other ways.
- pessimizer 3y ago
  You're out of tune with the zeitgeist. A legitimate defense of any politician doing something wrong these days is "Trump did it" i.e. what Bob did is bad, but the person I think is the worst in the world also did it, therefore what Bob did is good (somehow.)
pessimizer 3y ago
> colleges and universities pour money into sports That's not how it works. Colleges and universities break even or make money from sports. > taxpayer subsidized NFL stadiums (not having to pay taxes is also a subsidy, we don't have to hand them buckets of cash, just waiving taxes is taxpayer subsidy) This is just standard institutional legal criminality. States and cities issue huge bonds for the sake of private organizations with no ongoing payments, only a giant balloon payment at the end. When they sell these bonds, they magic them into being tax-free for the owners. When the balloon payment approaches, they issue another huge bond to fund the balloon payment. Eventually if they declare bankruptcy, the state or city has committed to paying off the bonds for them. Doesn't have anything to do with sports. If you're friends with the right people, you can get this done for adding an expansion to your french fry factory that you promise will allow you to hire 10 extra people. Except there's no compliance enforcement, and instead you filled your new space with a machine that allowed you to lay off 20 people. When it comes to sports, the government has special carveouts in antitrust law for the NFL (and the like.) It's simply corruption. > I don't want to hear how investing in science is a waste of money. This is a strawman. If I say that I oppose funding for your search for the angelic healing properties of bleach, it doesn't mean I'm against science. If I don't think your search for the cure for baldness is worth $50B of public money, I also mean that without reference to however much people who like football waste on football.

by mcny 3y ago

Bostonian 3y ago

Wasting money in some ways is not a good reason to waste it in other ways.

pessimizer 3y ago
You're out of tune with the zeitgeist. A legitimate defense of any politician doing something wrong these days is "Trump did it" i.e. what Bob did is bad, but the person I think is the worst in the world also did it, therefore what Bob did is good (somehow.)

pessimizer 3y ago

> colleges and universities pour money into sports That's not how it works. Colleges and universities break even or make money from sports. > taxpayer subsidized NFL stadiums (not having to pay taxes is also a subsidy, we don't have to hand them buckets of cash, just waiving taxes is taxpayer subsidy) This is just standard institutional legal criminality. States and cities issue huge bonds for the sake of private organizations with no ongoing payments, only a giant balloon payment at the end. When they sell these bonds, they magic them into being tax-free for the owners. When the balloon payment approaches, they issue another huge bond to fund the balloon payment. Eventually if they declare bankruptcy, the state or city has committed to paying off the bonds for them. Doesn't have anything to do with sports. If you're friends with the right people, you can get this done for adding an expansion to your french fry factory that you promise will allow you to hire 10 extra people. Except there's no compliance enforcement, and instead you filled your new space with a machine that allowed you to lay off 20 people. When it comes to sports, the government has special carveouts in antitrust law for the NFL (and the like.) It's simply corruption. > I don't want to hear how investing in science is a waste of money. This is a strawman. If I say that I oppose funding for your search for the angelic healing properties of bleach, it doesn't mean I'm against science. If I don't think your search for the cure for baldness is worth $50B of public money, I also mean that without reference to however much people who like football waste on football.