4 ms·

There is also added infrastructure cost, police cost and more. But you're right that the football budget is less than the Space budget. But why is ANY public

There is also added infrastructure cost, police cost and more. But you're right that the football budget is less than the Space budget. But why is ANY public money being spent on personal entertainment when it could be spent on progress? another 4 billion a year could pay for a lot of research and scholarships.

jerf 17y ago
The government doesn't give all of its money to space exploration (or other worthy causes) and spends money on entertainment for the same reason you don't give all your money to space exploration (or other worthy causes) and spend some money (including time) on entertainment. The only way that could happen is if we, as a species, could somehow dedicate all of our time to "worthy pursuits", but we can't. We need downtime and entertainment, and by "need", I mean, need. My first paragraph is not sarcastic. It really is the same reason, just writ large. (This argument is one layer of "why?" beyond the more obvious, but less interesting, point that these stadiums get built because they pull enough in tax revenues in to justify it, or at least so the municipalities assume.)
- pj 17y ago
  According to The Brookings Institution, "a new sports facility has an extremely small (perhaps even negative) effect on overall economic activity and employment. No recent facility appears to have earned anything approaching a reasonable return on investment. No recent facility has been self-financing in terms of its impact on net tax revenues. http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/9474/No_85_Sports_Stadium_Madness_Why_It_Started_How_to_Stop_It_summmary.html http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/9474/No_85_Sports...
- aaronblohowiak 17y ago
  Sure. However, Political Will is the deciding factor here. And, many people want sports stadiums in their cities and won't abandon their politicians for agreeing to build them. I am critical of our cultural perceptions of the role of government, not of the government as such.
ibsulon 17y ago
Have you ever heard of "bread and circuses?"
- pj 17y ago
  Wow... I'd never heard of it. It's like nothing ever changes... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses Of course we have heard of the comparison between gladiators and football players, but I never realized people back then were as vehemently opposed to that sort of thing as they are now. I thought it was a growing consciousness, but really it is just me becoming more aware of people who agree with me... But people like me have lived forever and if it's been 5000 years without any change, why should I expect anything will change through the course of my life?

jerf 17y ago

The government doesn't give all of its money to space exploration (or other worthy causes) and spends money on entertainment for the same reason you don't give all your money to space exploration (or other worthy causes) and spend some money (including time) on entertainment. The only way that could happen is if we, as a species, could somehow dedicate all of our time to "worthy pursuits", but we can't. We need downtime and entertainment, and by "need", I mean, need. My first paragraph is not sarcastic. It really is the same reason, just writ large. (This argument is one layer of "why?" beyond the more obvious, but less interesting, point that these stadiums get built because they pull enough in tax revenues in to justify it, or at least so the municipalities assume.)

pj 17y ago
According to The Brookings Institution, "a new sports facility has an extremely small (perhaps even negative) effect on overall economic activity and employment. No recent facility appears to have earned anything approaching a reasonable return on investment. No recent facility has been self-financing in terms of its impact on net tax revenues. http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/9474/No_85_Sports_Stadium_Madness_Why_It_Started_How_to_Stop_It_summmary.html http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/9474/No_85_Sports...
aaronblohowiak 17y ago
Sure. However, Political Will is the deciding factor here. And, many people want sports stadiums in their cities and won't abandon their politicians for agreeing to build them. I am critical of our cultural perceptions of the role of government, not of the government as such.

ibsulon 17y ago

Have you ever heard of "bread and circuses?"

pj 17y ago
Wow... I'd never heard of it. It's like nothing ever changes... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses Of course we have heard of the comparison between gladiators and football players, but I never realized people back then were as vehemently opposed to that sort of thing as they are now. I thought it was a growing consciousness, but really it is just me becoming more aware of people who agree with me... But people like me have lived forever and if it's been 5000 years without any change, why should I expect anything will change through the course of my life?