Politics As Usual
Shining a Light on Power and Policy
Tom Shine covers congressional politics for ABC News.
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15 CITIES, 39 PROFESSIONAL SPORTS STADIUMS and 348 STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT BRIDGES
October 10, 2007 8:47 AM
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, where 13 people died when the 1-35W bridge collapsed on August 1, has three PUBLICLY FINANCED PROFESSIONAL SPORTS STADIUMS.
The County in which Minneapolis is located has 10 STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT BRIDGES. CHICAGO has two PUBLICLY FINANCED PROFESSIONAL SPORTS STADIUMS and the county in which the windy city is located has 82 STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT BRIDGES.
A group called GOOD JOBS NEW YORK says too much tax money is going to build huge stadiums for professional sports at the expense of needed repairs to decaying infrastructure like bridges. They have compiled a list of 15 urban locations with 39 PUBLICLY FINANCED PROFESSIONAL SPORTS STADIUMS located in counties that have 348 STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT BRIDGES. GOOD JOBS NEW YORK will testify today before a house subcommittee chaired by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio.
This is the second hearing Kucinich has held looking into exactly what taxpayers get for their money when professional sports team owners demand and get those expensive new or updated arenas. At the last hearing economist Brad Humphreys testified, "I HAVE NOT FOUND ANY EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER SUGGESTING THAT PROFESSIONAL SPORTS STADIUMS CREATE JOBS, RAISE INCOME, or RAISE LOCAL TAX REVENUES." Kucinich points out that the average public share of the cost of these stadiums is estimated to be 80%.
So the taxpayers pay a hefty price to finance these high tech, lavish sports coliseums, but to get to them to see their favorite team compete, many have to travel over structurally deficient bridges ready to collapse and kill them.
October 10, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)
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