Big City Plans
So the city of Indianapolis has agreed to an $800 million deal to build a new stadium for the Colts (and other groups) downtown. (Story here)
I realize that I am an idealist. But I cannot help but get sick to my stomach about the misuse of wealth in our country. Yes, the richest 1% of the population now owns as much wealth as the bottom 95% of all Americans combined. And the wealthiest 1% of the population also consumes as much as the bottom 44% combined.
What would it be like for a city to assign $800 million dollars to poverty relief? To feed families? To help the single mom who works 2 shifts a day at minimum wage just so her family can eat and have a place to live?
Justice? Mercy? Nah... Joe CEO needs another boat.
Meanwhile that single mom reads this morning's headlines and grabs her bus ticket as she heads off to work.
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3 comments:
good point, trev - i definitely feel the vibe of that sort of thing. i get all riled up about it, but don't write about it nearly enough. glad to see you've put it out there.
perhaps we should start by asking peyton manning which he'd rather see done with the money. i mean, there's a team that not only is trying to pull together such a huge sum of money for a new stable (colts, get it?), but they almost always sell out at $50 to $500 a ticket for the games. double rape.
Not to play advocate or anything, but it is an investment for the city that will raise something like 2 Billion dollars for use in other areas. Now what that money is going to, I don't know... - Aaron
I have to agree with Trevor wholeheartedly on this one. It is ridiculous to spend that much money to help a group that is already rich build a stadium to play a game while families, schools and the poor struggle to survive. Money is constantly being cut from budgets that are meant to help families, address homelessness, build better education, etc. while more is spent on playtime and wealth builders for the wealthy.
And it may be an investment in that stadium, and in the businesses around that stadium, but that is about as far as it goes. The revenue produced by a full stadium does not go to feed the hungry or provide funding for schools. It goes to the corporations that own the stadium, the team, and the industry surrounding the game of football.
This is another case of screwed up priorities in our country. We put corporations and entertainment before people, before our children, and before making our world a place that is good for people.
I enjoy football and I don't fault the players for getting paid to play. I don't fault the owners for making a lot of money. I think it is a backwards set of priorities but that is the way it is at this point. To use money that should be spent on other things, and to neglect more important things, so that it is cheaper to build a place to play a game is ridiculous.
Perhaps, one day, our prioirties will change and there will be no more starving families and failing educational system. I certainly hope so.
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