Posted by
Dave on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 2:57:00 PM
There is perhaps no greater imposition on individual liberty than
having the government confiscate one's private property for the purpose
of distributing it to someone else. Whether it is our paycheck or our
home, expansion of the government means a decrease in the rights of
Americans, and as the government's intrusiveness increases so does the
incentive for other interests to lobby the government for special
treatment -- for property to be confiscated from others and distributed
to them. It is particularly contemptible when the beneficiary
of government redistribution is the already-powerful, already-wealthy
-- such action represents Robin Hood in reverse.
Few interests
have been more successful over the years at convincing the government
to enact "Bizarro Robin Hood" policies than wealthy owners of
professional sports franchises. Rather than viewing stadiums and
arenas as investments to be considered part of the cost of owning a
franchise and either absorbing the expense or passing it along to those
who actually attend the games, these owners have engaged in what
amounts to legal extortion: either the city (or county, or state, or
some combination of the above) foots the bill for a new stadium (decked
out, of course, with luxury suites), or the owner threatens to move the
team. Experience suggests this is no hollow threat, with teams like
the New Orleans (nee Charlotte) Hornets, Indianapolis (nee Baltimore)
Colts, St. Louis (nee Los Angeles) Rams, Washington Nationals (nee
Montreal Expos), and Carolina Hurricanes (nee Hartford Whalers) proving
that this is a multi-sport phenomenon.
A current victim of
attempted legalized extortion is the city of Houston. The perpetrator
is the Houston Dynamo, the local Major League Soccer franchise. The
soccer club is a repeat offender, having moved to Houston from San Jose
when that city refused to give in to the extortion. Houston no doubt
seemed a fruitful target, having provided public funds to build
stadiums for the Rockets, Astros, and Texans, all in the past 10
years. Smarting from the pain of losing the Houston Oilers NFL
franchise to Nashville, Houston over the past decade has seemingly
taken Bizarro Robin Hood to a new level.
The Dynamo currently
play at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston.
I have no idea what the team's financial bottom line looks like, but if
the owners who willingly brought the team to Houston and the fans who
willingly pay to watch the team play can't afford the $100 million
dollars for a new stadium, then the Dynamo should either accept their
current digs, move elsewhere, or fold up the tent altogether. If the
money isn't there, then raise funds from donors or advertising.
Neither I nor anyone else who doesn't wish to contribute to such an
endeavor should have be forced to by the government.
These
stadium deals are nothing more than welfare for the wealthy. Such
misuse of government power needs to stop. Extortion should not be
rewarded, even legal extortion.