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From the point of view of the average taxpayer, deliverables on space missions are too few and far between. When you build an arena (even for non mainstream sp
by alexgartrell 17y ago
From the point of view of the average taxpayer, deliverables on space missions are too few and far between.
When you build an arena (even for non mainstream sport), you make money off of taxing the Franchise, but more substantially off of the local businesses that opened up to serve the fans of the team. Over priced beer, food, and jerseys can make a lot of money if there's a well-liked team behind it all.
Plus, people LIKE it. It's a regional pride thing.
If you're an average guy, do you want to see three astronauts orbit the earth for 6 months, or go down town with your buddies, get drunk, and watch a game?
That's why the average guy votes for the new stadium over NASA.
- jacoblyles 17y agoThere is an eternal tension between elite opinion's love for democracy and its distaste for the tastes of the common man. (We, on the right side of the education and income bell curves, qualify as "elites").
- kiba 17y agoI have a distaste for democracy but not for the common man. As far as I am concerned, democracy is mob rules at best and two wolves and one sheep deciding what to eat for dinner at worst. As for the common man, I don't give a damn if joe sixpack watch football games rather than conduct scientific experiments.
- whughes 17y agoThe common man's opinions determine the elections, though. It's the common man's money that funds NASA and provides grants to researchers. Whether you care or not, the common man is a powerful force in determining the future.
- ckinnan 17y agoThis is wrong. A number of economic studies show that taxpayer-funded stadiums reallocate dollars, they don't help local business on net-- they just increase the value of the sports team. https://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/302 https://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/302 http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv23n2/coates.pdf http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv23n2/coates.pdf Teams and regional pride would still exist without taxpayer-funded stadiums.
- philwelch 17y agoPerhaps, but the taxes are usually focused on tourism (hotel and auto rental taxes), which is the sector that is helped the most by new stadia. Also consider the loss of business that happens when a team leaves, such as when the Seattle Supersonics left for Oklahoma City. Even if there isn't a net gain for building a new stadium, there may be a local gain at another city's expense, such as between Seattle and Oklahoma City.