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November 11, 2004
"Look Honey, it's Paul Wolfowitz!"
The Washington Times talked to super agent Scott Boras, who seems high on D.C. baseball in more ways than one: "In Los Angeles, we get Hugh Hefner and Pamela Anderson and people who know nothing about baseball who come to the games. The fans get to see two things, the game and the stars. It could be the same thing for Washington." Imagine the thrill many a young fan will feel the first time they see Alice Rivlin or Norm Ornstein at the game. It's tough to measure the impact that could have on the gate. Elsewhere in D.C. Baseball news, City Council Chairman Linda Cropp seems to be back on board with public financing of a ball park, as long as the option remains open for some sort of private financing. This passage from the piece has to be my favorite: [D.C. City Councilman Jack] Evans and others noted that Major League Baseball is interested in having the least risk in getting the stadium built. Folks, if the future owners of the Expos aren't at risk, that means somebody else is. And that somebody else happens to be the taxpayers of Washington, D.C. And even in the private financing plan described in the linked article, the prospective private investors wouldn't be enticed to put their money on the table because of the prospect of profits, but rather at the prospect of a large tax write-off. Be afraid, be very afraid. Meanwhile, a number of smaller businesses aren't happy about the gross receipts tax that is going to be used to fund stadium construction -- and they talked to the Post today: "Some have suggested the tax is an inconsequential amount of money for us to pay," said J.L. "Rusty" Meadows, managing principal of the $15 million-per-year design firm Ai Architecture. "To those who say that, I'd like to know how many of them ever had to make a payroll." Indeed.
Eric
11:35 AM
Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: CommentsOrnstein taught at C.U., and was a commentator for "Comedy Central"? Where have I been? Posted by: at November 11, 2004 12:45 PM Post a commentThanks for signing in, . (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) |