Buck Blasts Fireworks

My friend , Buck, decided we should meet on Saturday, the 4th of July, instead of our regular Wednesday breakfast. Very patriotic, I thought. We met at Nick's Diner, and asked Sara to take us to our favorite table -- the one in the back corner, the one Nick chose for us because he didn't want his customers to be distracted by our arguments.

As we took our seats, I wished Buck a Happy Fourth. "What's so happy about it it?' he snapped. It was going to be one of those meals.

"Today, 239 years ago," (I was trying to impress him with my math) "we declared our independence and we are still free. A great day."

"You do know the Declaration of Independence wasn't signed until August 2nd, don't you?" he asked somewhat sarcastically.

"Fine," I said. "What's your problem? Did Michigan fire Jim Harbaugh?  Is Pope Francis too Christian? No wait, I got it. You're upset that the Supreme Court legalized gay/lesbian marriage. That's it, admit it. You were sure your Republicans had stacked the Court."

'Give me a break," he said. "I could care less whether men can legally marry men. Nobody is forcing me to marry a man, so why would I  care? I prefer to marry women and I will continue to do so."

At that point, Sara appeared with our coffee, and Buck said he wanted to ask her an important question. "Would you," he said in a pleading voice, "be my next wife?'

"What? Did you kill your wife?' she asked.

"Just preparing for the future. And reassuring my friend here that I'm never going to marry a man."

"Oh, okay, just fax me your financials, and I'll let you know."

As Sara left, I asked, "Okay, what is your problem?"  

"The damn Fourth of July! That's my problem."

"That's unpatriotic and sacrilegious. I will have to turn you in to Homeland Security. Maybe they can revoke your citizenship."

"I'll tell you what's sacrilegious. It's the damn fireworks and marching bands. Particularly the fireworks. John Adams had many good ideas, but telling Americans to shoot off fireworks on the 4th of July was his worst."

Bewildered, I said, "You are unbelievable. What is wrong  with fireworks? I look forward to seeing a beautiful fireworks display. It's a fine art,  albeit temporary."

"Balderdash. There's nothing fine about it. For one thing it's a big waste of money. I read Americans spent $967 million on fireworks in 2013. What a waste. Imagine how many school lunches we could buy with that money."

"Buck, my friend, it's entertainment -- pure and simple."

"Entertainment that kills and maims people, frequently kids. Also it damages and destroys property. Not to mention the damage it causes for animals and the environment. Many fireworks are manufactured in India and China by children.  The whole thing is insane."

"How altruistic of you."

"No one's ever accused me of being altruistic. It;s not altruism; it's a deep and abiding hatred of fireworks. It should be called what it is -- noise pollution.  The noise frightens children, pets, the autistic, and those suffering from battlefield stress issues. And not the least of which, fireworks deprive me of a good night's sleep because some idiots are shooting them off all night long."

When Sara brought our checks, she looked at Buck and said,  "I get such a bang out of you when you go ballistic."

Scrap the Cap on Soc

Social Security has been one of the pillars on which the US has developed a solid Middle Class; and now that the Middle Class is under attack, Social Security is also enduring an assault. Politicians and some of their media puppets (Fox News) insist on telling us Social Security will run out of money in the future.

Those who understand what has happened know that politicians like George W. Bush have raided the Social Security Trust Fund to invade Iraq and fight a war in Afghanistan. The bottom line is that The Social Security System is quite capable of supporting itself and caring for those retirees who have invested part of their wages in the system. If the system were a "locked box" as Al Gore in 2000 suggested, it would be self supporting.

The "Locked Box"
that was never locked

On the other hand, George W Bush raided the fund and now Republicans are asking workers to pay more and telling potential retirees to work longer than the promised retirement in order to make up for the money that politicians like GW Bush have removed. However, there is an opportunity to strengthen the system, but most politicians don't want to consider it -- raise the maximum  earnings level on which workers pay Social Security taxes.

At the present time the limit is $118,500. The result is that corporate executives making hundreds of million dollars a year pay Social Security taxes only on the first $118,500, There seems to be no logical reason for such a maximum. Why not tax all earnings?

Since 1983 a larger and larger share of earnings have escaped the Social Security tax. Then (1983) 90% of total earnings were taxed; today only 83% is taxed. 17% of total earnings is not being taxed. If the Social Security System needs additional revenue, eliminate the the maximum earnings limit. Tax all earnings equally.

The growing divide in wages in the US, means that since the top earners, millionaires and billionaires, contribute only on the first $118,500, many of them have already reached the max in February while the average wage earner will be paying the tax all year long. These average wage earners are also now in the unenviable position of seeing their wages decrease or stagnate while their productivity continues to increase.

Our seniors, both now and in the future, who pay into Social Security over their lifetimes should be "secure" in their retirement, and we can make that possible by having wealthy Americans pay their fair share.

A Modest Proposal: A Small Sales Tax for Wall St.

Congressman Chris Van Hollen

One of the few taxes that Republicans espouse is the sales tax. which creates a disproportionate burden on the lower middle class and the poor. GOP governors, like John Kasich in Ohio, continually try to lower the fair, graduated income tax while they raise or extend the sales tax to cover more services. That being the case,  one would logically conclude that Republicans would favor a sales tax on financial transactions. Not happening.

So surely the Democrats would be fighting tooth and nail to pass such legislation. Again, not happening.

Since a small Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) is such a simple, common sense approach to raise much-needed revenue and solve other problems, it is difficult to understand why there is not a groundswell of support. Perhaps the key is the word "financial." Few politicians, especially after Citizens United, want to incur the wrath of Wall Street and the Big Banks.

A tax on financial transactions is often referred to as a "Robin Hood Tax," in that the wealthy will be paying a larger proportion than the middle and lower classes.

Maryland congressman, Chris Van Hollen, proposed a program for a FTT similar to the one the European Union is installing next year. "It would tax stock trades at a rate of 0.1 percent (10 cents on $100) and trades of derivative at a rate of 0.01 percent (1 cent on $100). Extrapolating from a recent study of the revenue such a tax would raise in Europe, Van Hollen's tax would raise more than $130 billion a year or more than $1.5 trillion over the course of a decade."*

Vermont senator and democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, introduced a bill in the Senate to offer a free public college education to all qualified Americans. As in Europe, this education plan would be paid for with a financial transaction tax.

Of course, those day-traders who make many trades a day will have an expense from which they have been exempt. But that may be a good thing. Those people may consider getting a real, constructive job. Or they will continue on as before and pay the toll.

But the bottom line is this: if a 50-week-a-year laborer has to pay sales tax when he purchases a pair of jeans for his son, why doesn't an investor have to pay a much lower tax when she or he buys a stock, not out of need, but out of greed.

And if you are going to tell me such a measure will shut down Wall Street, excuse me while I roll on the floor laughing.

*Deane Baker Nation of Change, May 11, 2015




,

USGA Plays Games with the US Open

Chambers Bay Golf Course

The United States Golf Association has an identity problem. These august ladies (I assume there are some token women involved) and gentlemen are attempting to make the US Open resemble the British Open.

Most Golfers in the United States play on courses with trees, meandering streams or lakes, and green fairways/greens; but the USGA has chosen to stage the US Open at Chambers Bay (a course built on a sand/gravel pit) with one tree, a busy railroad track, sprinkler heads in the middle of greens, the remains of old buildings, and dormant or dead grass on the undulating fairways and bumpy greens, described by one golfer as "putting on broccoli heads."

In addition the USGA has chosen  not only to make the course the longest in history, but also to change par 4s to  par 5s and vice versa from day to day  I can't imagine the United States Tennis Association changing the heights of the net from day to day in the US Open, or Major League Baseball changing the distance from the pitcher's mound to home plate in the World Series. Why does the USGA feel the need for these gimmicks?

Enough with the gimmicks, USGA. Don't game the game.

15th hole

Fox sports announcers keep referring to the course as "beautiful Chambers Bay," and I guess it is beautiful if you are into moonscapes and railroad container cars. The only hole I could possibly consider beautiful is the par 3 15th (length varies significantly from day to day) as it features the course's only tree and the viewers and golfers are looking out over Puget Sound.

This is not a course to which US golfers can relate. We all appreciate the British Open because it is played on typical British course. It's time the USGA  stops being gimmicky and plays the US Open on typical US courses.

The Attack Fom Within

 

The pages of history are cluttered with stories of collapsed empires, most recently, the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Although each story has unique factors, the one common element is that ultimately each empire collapsed, at least partially,  from within.

Many thoughtful people of today  seriously fear there is a political/ economic movement  afoot which, if successful, could be the beginning of the end for the United States. A strange collaboration of religious, conservative, libertarian, racist, egocentric and xenophobic perspectives has taken control of one of our major political parties. Although this movement represents a minority, it has managed to succeed because it has the support of extremely wealthy individuals and some major corporations and industries. And, as history has shown, a country, kingdom, or an empire can be subjugated by a well-connected minority. Whether such a reversal can occur in this country remains to be seen, but the Republican Party, so long as it kowtows to its radical right wing,  is in danger of destroying our country from within.

Consider the GOP's recent history. Begin with their rush to fight two unfunded wars in the Middle East. Couple that with a tax package that redistributes more of American wealth from the middle class to the extremely wealthy.

More recently this party has attempted to engage in activities that our fore fathers would have considered "Un-American" and definitely dangerous to our future. Listed below (in no particular order) are some of the initiatives the radical Republicans are attempting:

1.   selling off America's public lands to private corporations.
2.   destroying our great system of free public education.
3.   allowing corporations to pollute our air, water, and land.
4.   eliminating a safety net for the old and poor.
5.   bringing the US Congress to a standstill.
6.   fighting to keep out immigrants, especially those of color.
7.   telling our adversaries not to trust our President.
8.   decimating the contract between the government and those who pay into Social Security.
9.   giving control of public airwaves and broadband to monster communication corporations.
10. devising all sorts of ways to keep US citizens from voting.
11. defunding the scientific research that has made the US a world leader.
12. violating the First Amendment and the separation of church and state.
13. blocking federal judicial appointments, creating an historical number of vacancies.
14. idly watching the US become the "world leader"* in child poverty.
15. stacking the Supreme Court with political hacks.

16. shutting down the government.
17. conspiring with Israeli and Iranian extremists (cf. Iranian nuclear talks.)
18. taxing earned income from real work at a higher rate than investment income.
19.stigmatizing women who practice birth control.
20. presiding over the collapse of infrastructure in the name of deficit reduction.
21. underfunding and crippling the Internal Revenue Service.

These activities and/or attempted activities are not only detrimental to the long term success of a vibrant democracy, but are also subversive and seditious.

*among "developed countries."

Accountability for Legislators?

Legislators pass all kinds of laws to require accountability from public employees with teachers being the target most often. These legislators who are never required to show up for work receive 2 or 3 times the salary of a teacher or fireman. If they do show up for work, they are usually  "in session" less than half of the year.  Oh,yes, did I mention that they decide their own salaries. As for accountability, they do have to do the bidding of Big Oil or whoever is throwing money at them. A sad situation, but that has what has become of the dream of our Founding Fathers. Greed rules.

Although I realize legislators would never truthfully answer these questions, I propose asking them the following questions

1. Have you ever read the entire US Constitution including the Amendments? (You know, the document you swore to uphold when you took the oath of office)
2. If so, when did that occur?
3. If you can't read, when was the last time someone read it to you?
4. Do you realize that when you swore to uphold the US Con, you swore to "promote the general Welfare" of the citizens? No, the Founding Fathers were not evil "socialists." 
5. Do you understand that, in the First Amendment,  the Founding Fathers were trying to keep religion out of government and vice versa? Yes prayers are by nature religious.
6. Do you know the difference between faith and reason?
7. Do you realize that in exchange for your salary and all your perks, you are supposed to work on the country's business and not your next election?
8. Do you know that one of your jobs, according to the Constitution, is "To Promote the Progress of Science"? (Notice, it says "promote," not "hinder.")
9.Do you know that receiving $250,000 or more for voting in favor of the Keystone pipeline is corruption? (If you get off on that sort of thing, you should move to Russia. They are very good at it.).
10. Did it ever occur to you that lobbyists with their lucre and perks are not interested in promoting "the general Welfare"?
11. Do you support the  right to privacy as outlined in the Fourth Amendment? (Or do you support the George W. Bush version thereof?)
12. Did it ever occur to you that "Duck Dynasty" is not a great work of literature?

I realize legislators like John Boehner are laughing at these questions . He and his buddies like the game they and their lobbyists are playing. He knows that his country club memberships and a luxury vacation condo on Marco Island are not the result of promoting "the general Welfare,"  but of playing ball with the wealthy few.

One is left to wonder what level of Dante's Inferno these guys go to when they die. Readers of Dante will argue this point because they are eligible for various levels.

Lenten Sacrifices for Politicians

 

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, that period of time during which Christians willing deprive themselves of things they desire, has arrived. Many of things we "give up" are also things whose absence will benefit our health and longevity, in other words, our "bad habits."

In addition to everyday bad habits, politicians, on the other hand, have a much larger accumulation of bad habits, and it is therefore much more difficult for them to decide what to "give up" for Lent. In the interest of doing my civic duty, I am going to assist some politicians by suggesting they do without the following:

• President Obama; give up basketball and concentrate on your golf game. Rich, white, guys really hate to see blacks playing golf and playing well.
• Vice President Joe Biden: try talking less and when doing so, don't use the f-word in front of an open microphone. Blue-collar workers like that , but the blondes on the Fox channel go into a tizzy when you do that.  So just stop it!
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: stop taking money from your father-in-law, shipping magnate, James Chao. After all, the Koch brothers are paying you well to do their bidding.
• Speaker of the House John Boehner: although many have suggested you give up drinking, smoking, swearing, and tanning booths, I would suggest you give up meddling in the President's international negotiations and stop playing footsie with Benjamin Netanyahu.*

• Former President George W. Bush: although your family dreams of that "Dynasty" thing, give it up. Tell your brother Jeb that he is no more qualified to be president than you were.
• Former Vice President Dick Cheney: although you really enjoy your status as "Liar Extraordinaire," perhaps you could try telling the truth throughout this Lenten season.
•  Senator John McCain: give up your senate seat. There is no known cure for senility.



Ted Cruz

• Senator Rafael "Ted" Cruz: give up shutting down the government of the United States. Yes, we know you did it because "God told me to do it;" but it seems to me that shutting down our government is something a terrorist would be proud of.

• South Carolina State Senator Tom Corbin: maybe just for Lent you could shut your mouth and stop disrespecting women. Your last attempt to explain your misogyny by saying women are "a lesser cut of meat," did little to help.
• GOP Florida Senator Marco Rubio: for Lent you could start showing up for work. After you were found to be "the least likely to show up for work," it's time to at least act like you are earning your salary.
• New Jersey Governor Chris Christie: some would suggest the good governor go on a diet for Lent, I would suggest that he enroll in a crash course on "Ethics In Government."
• Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker: I know you admire Dick Cheney, but you have to stop telling lies. Unfortunately, you, like Pinocchio, get caught every time. 
• GOP wannabe president Rudy Giuliani: stop insisting your remarks are not racist. Your "explanations" simply confirm your racist attitudes.

Hopefully these politicians will appreciate my suggestions.

* In case John Boehner wonders what Americans think of his attempt to play politics with foreign policy, this is what they think:

*

Kasich's "Blueprint" is a Rehash of Old Failed GOP Policy

John Kasich

Ohio has not recovered from the Bush Recession as quickly as other states. Many workers cannot find jobs. Those who are working are finding their wages falling or remaining stagnant. Frequently, both parents of middle class families are working long hours just to maintain the statusquo. The number of Ohio children living in poverty is increasing. The gains and protections won by labor unions in the past are slowly being eroded.

But the other side of the coin is that Ohio's most wealthy citizens have never had it better. Their personal wealth, mostly inherited, is generating more and more return and being taxed less and less.

Given this situation, one would think the state's elected officials would, in 2015, change the course for the ship of state. Sorry. Not going to happen. Ohio's government is controlled by the GOP (Greedy Old Politicians) who are determined to consolidate the wealth.

Exhibit #1 is Governor Kasich's proposed 2015 budget which he touts as "Tax Reform." It is more of the same "trickle-down" economics that were proven to be fallacious when Ronald Reagan was selling back in the 80's. It didn't work then or when George W. Bush tried the same gimmick. And today Kasich is still trying to sell us that same piece of Marie Antoinette cake.

Just like one of his discredited predecessors, Bob Taft, Kasich wants to lower the income tax with the result that the wealthy pay less percentage-wise, and raise the sales tax so the middle class and poor pay disproportionately more.It takes a lot of guts to stand in front of Ohioans and promote this as "blueprint for a new Ohio," but then John Kasich has not backed off when it comes to making a fool of himself.

The GOP's deep-pocket donors have to love it, and Johnny is going to need those deep-pockets because he is posturing himself to run for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. Screw you, Ohioans, I want to be President of the United States! I need all that big money, now that the  Republican Supreme Court freed it up for me with the Citizens United decision.

Perhaps Kasich should rename his proposal for what it is: a blatant posturing to attract some of Romney's wealthy donors. After all, it costs a ton of money to run for president; and face it, those poor people can't give any money and if we play our cards like we did in 2004, we will keep them from voting.

The two key cogs of the proposed "Tax Reform" are:
■ 23 percent income tax cut across all brackets of the personal income tax
■ A half-cent hike in the state sales tax to 6.25 percent and expansion of the tax base to include such services as cable, lobbying, parking, public relations, travel packages, and debt collection. (Local sales taxes have to be added. In Lucas County the total will be 7.25 percent as of April)

In this case,  both Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives  have attacked the plan for a myriad of reasons, but the bottom line is that this strategy has been used repeatedly and it has always been a colossal failure. Most seem to agree that if this is the future of the "new Ohio," we are in for some tough times.

Lowering the income tax (a progressive tax -- the more income,the more you pay), and offsetting the lost income with an increase in the sales tax  (a regressive tax, the poorer one is, the larger percentage of one's income goes to taxes) has resulted in a series of economic recessions.


According to Policy Matters, “"Tax cuts would average $11,906 a year for the top 1 percent' of Ohio’s tax payers under Kasich’s proposed tax 'reform' plan.  'The bottom 60 percent, on average, would see increases” of up $116 a year.   In total, 80% of Ohioans would see zero change or a tax increase under Kasich’s proposed plan.'"

 Plunderbund agrees:  "Kasich wants to increase taxes on 60% of Ohioans."

As all economic studies have indicated, cutting income taxes and raising sales taxes moves more wealth from the lower economic levels to the most wealthy. And the most wealthy, according to Standards and Poor, "tend to save a greater share of their income and spend it on untaxed services."

The concentration of wealth caused by shifting the tax burden from income tax to sales tax results in a decline of the annual average state revenue growth.  In the 10 most sales-tax dependent states, there has been a "significant"decline in the annual average state tax growth."


And the ordinary consumer realizes that  increasing the sales tax penalizes consumerism, which in turn has ill effects for manufacturing. I  was thinking about purchasing a new truck or new household appliances, but if I have to pay even higher sales tax, I will make do with the ones I have.

As Policy Matters reminds us:  “cutting the income tax and expanding the existing tax break for business income is a failed economic strategy; after 10 years of tax cuts, Ohio still has fewer jobs than it had in 2005, while the nation has gained 6 million.”

One has to wonder why these  presidential wanna-bes, like Kasich, are bogged down in the failed Reaganomics of the early eighties. If it didn't work then, it's not going to work now.  As a wise woman I know says: "Repeating the same failed action over and over and expecting a different outcome is the epitome of stupidity."

Ohioans deserve a more creative policy. And that may mean we deserve new policy makers. 

Take a Closer Look at For-profit Charter Schools

Universal Public Education; Basis of Democracy

In the process of gathering  background information for a blog about charter schools, I happened upon the following letter written by Dr. Jan L. Osborn, superintendent of Putnam County (Ohio) Schools. He is responding to an editorial in The Lima  News (1/25/15). In the interest of brevity his letter does not give the full picture of how dysfunctional so many of Ohio's charter schools are,  but it does remind us of how well "free" universal public education has and is serving this country. Thus, I share:
 
After reading Thomas Lucente’s Jan. 25 column (“Separate school from state”), the superintendents of Putnam County feel compelled to write a response in order to present a more accurate picture regarding school choice in Ohio as well as to draw some comparisons to our state’s public school systems.

Some school options Mr. Lucente mentioned in the article have been around for decades, such as parochial/private schools and homeschooling. He also referred to more recent options, such as interschool choice and magnet schools within the public school system. And yes, publicly funded brick and mortar and online charter schools are now an option. Mr. Lucente states “we” are headed in the right direction in terms of these many choices for students today.

 
Some other facts would be beneficial to know before we consider, as Mr. Lucente suggests, that government be the last option in how we educate our children. Consider the following:

America’s public education system is based on the premise of the U.S. Constitution. It is a critical component to an informed, democratic society and the American way of life. Public schools do not discriminate; public schools serve all students regardless of background, class or ability. A privatized, market-based education system would essentially eliminate this long-held belief of our country.

Using public tax dollars to allow students and their families the opportunity to choose their method of education is already common in our state. For example, students may attend brick and mortar or online charter schools, which have been around for over a decade. It should also be noted that these schools have had minimal oversight, although public tax dollars are being used to fund them, and various problems have been publicized. They include the following:

• The improper use of funds to create large leasing contracts for property. One prime example is the Imagine Columbus Primary Academy, a charter school of 155 students, which paid an Imagine subsidiary $700,000 a year to lease the building which housed its students. The rent alone consumed over half the school’s annual budget.

• Hundreds of thousands of public taxpayer dollars being used to market and advertise charter schools. A northeastern Ohio online charter school of 1,200 students spent over $185,000 in marketing in clever radio and TV ads. This taxpayer money is appropriated for public education but is used instead for public relations and student recruitment.

• The amount of funds given to our elected politicians from the CEOs of these Ohio charter schools. White Hat Management, the largest charter school management in Ohio, is headed by David Brennan. From 2001-2010, he and his family donated nearly $3 million dollars to candidates running for public office in Ohio.

• The poor academic record for Ohio charter schools. An analysis by Innovation Ohio shows that charter schools received more Fs than As, Bs, and Cs combined in this past year’s state report card.

 

Mr. Lucente’s piece is clearly an overgeneralization of public schools and shortchanges the endless daily positives occurring throughout Ohio public schools. Not only are our public students reaching unprecedented heights of achievement, they are doing so despite the mountain of legislative initiatives that are overtaking public education.

Dr. Jan L Osborn

Did you know:

• Year after year, public schools across Ohio are among the best in the country, earning national recognition, landing on prestigious awards lists and showcasing models of innovation, efficiency and achievement.

• Ohio public school students continue to outperform the nation on college entrance and placement exams.

• Ohio has nearly 50 dedicated career and technology centers, which provide students cutting-edge skills in vocational training.

• U.S. students are improving dramatically in math. Since 1990, American fourth-graders have gained 28 points and eighth-graders have gained 21 points on the math portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

• U.S. high schools are more rigorous than ever. In 1990, less than a third of American high school seniors had a core curriculum that included math through at least Algebra II and three science labs. By 2009, that number was 59 percent.

In addition to student academic success, most public school districts throughout our state are the hubs of the communities.

 

Visit a football stadium on a fall Friday night or take in a basketball game in the winter.

 

 Read the many public-school related articles commonly written in your own newspaper, which share stories of student bodies hosting fundraisers for many worthwhile civic and community events, such as Relay for Life, Common Goal Hope Survives, etc. This is not to mention how multiple districts rally around one of their own families time and again in a time of hardship.

Public schools, the people within those respective districts and the various life events that bring them together, serve to educate the young people in real-life lessons on selflessness, sacrifice and a belief in the greater good. Through this collective effort each school and community fosters a unique and enduring sense of identity and pride.

Mr. Lucente suggests it is time to try something new yet fails to recognize that alternative schooling options have been around for decades. Further, he makes the statement that government should be the last option in how we educate our children, which is a dangerous one particularly considering the aforementioned public school facts.

Time to try something new? Be careful for what you wish.

The superintendents of the public schools in Putnam County signed this column, including Don Horstman, of Ottawa-Glandorf; Kerry Johnson, of Miller City-New Cleveland; Karl Lammers, of Kalida; Nick Langhals, of Jennings; Scott Mangas, of Ottoville; Joel Mengerink, of Continental; R. Todd Schmutz, of Pandora-Gilboa; Nick Verhoff, of Columbus Grove; Greg Williamson, of Leipsic; and Jan Osborn, of Putnam County Educational Service Center.

 

 

 

NFL: America's Taxpayer-financed Religion?

Minnesota Vikings Home: Cathedral or Stadium?

After last week  examining the ways in which government in the US subsidizes religion, this week let's examine one of our most prosperous "religions." It raises more than 10 billion dollars a year and cajoles governments to provide billion-dollar "cathedrals" which remain empty most of the time. It then demands that local government retrofit these places of worship with "altars" which cost $10 million. Its "high priest," Roger Goodell,  has an annual salary of at least $44 million.

That's right. I'm speaking of the National Football League which celebrates it's highest holy day Sunday with Super Bowl XLIX. (Don't you love the pretension of using Roman Numerals?)

Like most Americans, I love football, and the NFL has done a great job of marketing its product. So if the league, its executives, the team owners, coaches and players are making tons of money, what's the problem?

There are two problems: 1) the NFL is permitted to operate as a monopoly, but more importantly 2) it is tax exempt.

Roger Goodell

 Perhaps we can ignore the monopoly issue since the government permits many other entities to function as monopolies. But the tax exempt status makes no sense. It is impossible to consider the NFL as a charity that takes in donations, yet it is classified as a 501 (c) (6), the same as churches and social justice agencies which give back to the community. However, Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner with his $44 million plus salary, has the audacity, invoking the first amendment, to explain it this way: 

“Football is a sacred sport in here. It’s a religion. People have dedicated a lot of time and money to make this work for all the fans. The fans who worship the game, the players, and treat the stadiums like houses of worship. I mean, look at the Vikings' new stadium plans, the place looks like a church… because it is. And that’s why we must continue to receive tax exempt status. It’s against the first amendment to tell people they are wrong regarding who they worship, and football fans worship football. The coaches are our church leaders and pastors, the owners and management are our trustees and deacons, and the ushers are, well, the ushers.” (Free Wood Press)

Please, Roger. The NFL is all about making a profit and trying to protect its image. For years it has tried to cover up the problem of domestic violence, the long-range effects of players' concussions, HGH abuse, and paying cheerleaders $2.85 an hour (amount Cincinnati owner Paul Brown paid Alexa Brenneman). Hardly the approach of a caring religious institution.

And then there is the issue of  billions of taxpayer dollars being used to build  NFL stadiums. In Arlington, Texas, when the Dallas Cowboys owner wanted to build a new $1.2 billion "cathedral," he asked  the local tax payers to cough up $325 million. In addition, the  taxpayers are expected to pay 70% of the maintenance and upkeep. Of course, the owner, Jerry Jones, keeps all the profits.

"The worst stadium financing deal ever..." according to The Wall Street Journal  occurred in Cincinnati. In the mid 1990's, Paul Brown, the Bengal owner, threatened to move the team unless Hamilton County built and financed a football-only stadium. Hamilton county by itself, with no help from surrounding counties in Ohio and Kentucky, built the stadium and named it after the extortionistic owner. While the Bengals rake in the profits, the county maintains the stadium. In 2011 (10 years later) the stadium costs made up 16.4% of the county budget. (Business Insider,7/12/11) One local official called the stadium "the monster that ate the public sector." Meanwhile, the residents of Hamilton County pay an extra 1/2 cent sales tax to finance Paul Brown's cathedral

And that's not the end. In a game of mine-is-bigger-than-yours, Paul Brown wants a a $10 million stadium scoreboard for next season, and of course wants the county to pay $7.5 million of the cost. Hamilton County agreed. Talk about welfare for the wealthy!

 Louisiana, with a conservative GOP governor, Bobby Jindal,  pays the owner of the Saints up to $6 million of tax payers' money a year  as an "inducement payment" to keep the owner, Tom Benson,  from thinking about moving the team out of the state.

In Seattle, the Seahawks' CenturyLink Field was built in 2002 at a cost of $560 million of which the residents of Washington paid $360 million. Paul Allen, the owner and one of the world's richest people, pays the state $1 million a year rent and in return he keeps all profits, estimated to be in excess of $200 million - not a bad deal, if you can get it



Since Goodell thinks his stadiums are churches, it might be interesting to compare the two. Most churches are used every day of the week, or at least every Sunday.  Most stadiums have eight or fewer NFL games a year. If public schools operated on the same basis, there would be a public outcry, but we are all too willing to give the NFL a free pass.

After all, the NFL is America's religion,  and tonight when two of America's most disliked teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, play in Super Bowl  XLIX, I will be there in the pew in front of my television to watch the 11 minutes of actual football plays in a 60 minute game which will require 5 hours of my time. Unfortunately, if I had lived in ancient Rome, I suspect I would have gone to the coliseum to watch the gladiators.

(If you wish to verify the above, the most comprehensive source is: "How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers," The Atlantic, October 2013.) 


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