I will never be able to consider Anthony Williams a legitimate DC Mayor until I hear him say, "The bitch set me up!" Actually, it looks like there's still a pretty strong chance that the Mayor's plan will be approved. Important palms have been greased.
I'm not sure it's a kickback in any illegal sense. Just politics. I am glad to see this kind of thing and this is from someone who actually wants to see a baseball team in DC. When the ruthless and greedy owners of MLB franchises had the leverage, they stuck it to us and shook down a city that already has no tax base. The owners collectively bought the Expos for a song, the former Expos owner bought the Marlins and won a World Series. And the owners sell the team for a tax sponsored half-billion dollar stadium plus the actual price they get for the taem. Don't believe any BS about "they want to be taxed," those business will just raise their prices. Now that MLB has tipped its hand and it's pretty clear that they have nowhere else to go, let those greedy bastards pay their own way or slink back to Montreal, its decrepit stadium and their 8000 fans.
Still, the votes were there to pass the bill, so Cropp just says "well, we won't vote today, then." I'm not impressed.
Is it me, or did Johnny Walker really have problems when the ball was "kicked-back" to him and Moreno stripped it for another DC goal! 6-2
The intricacies of tax-incidence theory are a bit out of the reach of this board, but let me say that few business are not harmed by being taxed. It is very rare that all of the tax burden can be passed through to the end consumer. Even if businesses raise price the exact amount of the tax, they will lose some sales and will be damaged. In case where some businesses (those in DC) are taxed but competitors (those outside DC) are not taxed, it is very hard to raise prices. (If they were able to raise prices without losing sales, they would have already done it.) Then, the company suffers almost all the burden of the tax.
i would just like to know where the "private funding" is coming from and why it wasnt "discovered" before
I have to think that all of these baseball stadium shenanigans are going to make DC United's privately-financed stadium look pretty good.
That's because she's pulling this out of her ass at the last minute. She felt the heat from her constituents, and is now furiously backpedaling.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38091-2004Nov9.html As for kick backs D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams has persuaded seven of the council's 13 members to line up in support of his baseball financing plan by slipping more than $70 million in enticements into the stadium legislation, including $40 million for commercial development in Southeast Washington, $2 million for a high school in Ward 5 and $10 million for unspecified projects in Wards 6 and 7. $70 million sure buys a lot of voters on polling day?
Well done Grossman, assuming these businesses aren't the purveyors of perfectly inelastic goods, and I don't know of any insulin or heroin factories in DC, they can't pass it all on. If it's big hotels (and I suspect that it is), Virginia is the big winner, because they will have to raise prices at least some or it comes straight off the bottom line.
Well done Grossman and Paraiba. Don't forget all the new "retail" the mayor is trying to bring into the district. They may be able to absorb some of the cost at the corporate level, but that has got to hurt the chances of landing a mid-size company that actually cares about the bottom line and isn't solely in the business of putting its competitors under. Tim
In the hopes that some of you will actually lobby your ward bosses, here's some information I've collected: Chairman: Cropp. Had own plan to build the baseball stadium by RFK. Now has a plan where private financing will pay for $350 million of the cost of the stadium. Ward 1: Graham. I think Graham was originally on the fence, but now is backing the Mayor's Plan. He was offered $45 million toward improving the public libraries. Ward 2: Evans. Complete Mayor's man. Ward 3: Patterson. Hasn't appeared in the paper. Ward 4: Fenty. Supports not giving any money to billionaires. Ward 5: Orange. Mayor's Plan. Offered $2 million for laptops and $10 million for feasibility study to look at building DC General Hospital in the Ward. Ward 6: Ambrose. Hasn't appeared in the press. Ward 7: Chavous. Looks like on the fence. Ward 8: Allen. This is the ward where both stadiums will likely be built. Lame duck. Sitting on the fence trying to get the most she can right now. Has been offered up to $40 million for commercial development, and another $5 million for a learning and sports center. At-Large: Brazil: Complete Mayor's man Schwartz: backs Cropp's plan Catania: Hasn't been in the news Mendelson: Hasn't been in the news So this is what I'm thinking: force these people into thinking. I probably wouldn't bother with the Mayor's men--they ain't budging. But don't let 29 millionaires get a free half a billion dollars while DC United gets shafted at RFK and then doesn't get a dime to build their stadium. The Washington baseball team doesn't even have an owner! Baseball will only redistribute limited funds, bringing in very few. Why give them free money?
You can't forget that MLB also stripped the Expos of all their talent and minor league system. Heck, even their good execs were snagged...
I think just about all of the Council Members have made their positions know - at least as far as the Mayor's plan is concerned. Cropp's 1st plan has already been shelved and her 2nd plan (private investors / developers taking some responsibility for the cost at the Mayor's favored site) has run into problems and opposition from MLB. I know Catania and Mendelson opposed the Mayor's plan and Sharon Ambrose supported it. The Mayor's plan still seems to be the main item under consideration. It could be voted on next week (rather than in 2 weeks). Here's the latest from the Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40696-2004Nov10.html?nav=hcmodule
When I was in college and in my post-college bar-hopping days, I got Cropp-blocked several times, usually by some fat chick who was friends with whomever I was hitting on.
I believe the baseball stadium, at the Mayor's site, will be in Ward 6 (Ambrose), not Ward 8 (Allen).
If this all falls through, do the Expos die or are the moved to Montreal or San Juan or Monterrey? Is this actually a good thing for DC United?
I personally don't believe Mayor Williams or Councilwoman Cropp have faced the stunning reality that WASHINGTON CANNOT AFFORD BASEBALL and building a new stadium is not possible... Washington residents can barely afford the existing tax thus far... a new stadium, either in Anacostia or near RFK, cannot be built on existing tax receipts! Additionally, do D.C. residents really support baseball? I know this is an obvious question, but my inclination is that this baseball is being pushed by outside D.C. entities and that WASHINGTONIANS DON'T EVEN LIKE BASEBALL. My guess is that D.C. residents are more basketball and football oriented (some soccer patronage); I've been to Orioles Games in Baltimore and never seen D.C. residents at all! What proof exists that they will suddenly start patronizing baseball games? So... wouldn't it prove more economical to spend a smaller amount of money fixing up the RFK site stadium/complex to be a joint baseball/soccer complex... with a new soccer-specific site and the existing RFK field stadium permanantly modified for baseball? If this new D.C. baseball stadium is built, there will need to be a massive federal bailout as D.C. cannot afford either Mayor Williams or Councilwoman Cropp's plan! IntheNet