Of course, it wasn't an editorial about the Tampa Bay Rays or the four big pro sports leagues, which rely on more than a billion tax dollars each year in the U.S.; instead, it was an editorial about Walmart's reliance on police resources that could be used better elsewhere.
Strange, though, how many similarities we could draw between the retail giant's reliance on public resources...and those relied on by pro sports:
Walmart: A retail business that makes questionable claims about jobs & economic impact
MLB: A retail business that makes questionable claims about jobs & economic impact
Walmart: Most of the jobs created are part-time jobs for low wages
MLB: Most of the jobs created are part-time jobs for low wages
Walmart: Drains public resources that could arguably be spent better elsewhere
MLB: Drains public funds that could arguably be spent better elsewhere
The Times wrote "the evidence is overwhelming that Walmart is exploiting the use of the public's human and financial capital to hold down its costs" and that local governments should stand up to the 800-lb. guerilla.
"Local governments...have to keep the public safe...but they also have a responsibility to prudently spend public money and appropriately manage limited resources," the Times wrote.
Why don't we seen many editorials calling on local politicians to do the same on possible stadium spending?
Walmart: Uses tax loopholes to reduce its "fair share" of contributions to public coffers
MLB: Uses tax loopholes to reduce its "fair share" of contributions to public coffers
Walmart: Share profits w/the public that helps subsidize them? Ha!
MLB: Share profits w/the public that helps subsidize them? Ha!
The Times editorial board pretty regularly criticizes corporate welfare. And while there are certainly some cases to be made for smart subsidies...it really is a head-scratcher why tougher questions aren't more frequently asked about the hundreds of millions of Tampa Bay tax dollars expected to go toward a new retail complex for the Rays to play.
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Hi Noah,
ReplyDeleteI believe we are on the same page here.
On 5/16//2016 I sent the following email to Tim Nickens - Editor of Editorials for the Tampa Bay Times:
Hi Tim,
Regarding the recently published Tampa Bay Times editorial entitled "Walmart's police calls are a drain on public services" posted at http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/walmarts-police-calls-are-a-drain-on-public-services/2277285 , unfortunately the indepth story posted at http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/tampa-bay-walmarts-get-thousands-of-police-calls-you-paid-the-bill/2276829 on 5/15/2016 does not report the total cost to the taxpayer for Walmart's overuse of law enforcement across the 4 county area.
I have made a first pass at computing this cost - please see attachments. It works out to about $7.5 million for the year, which is less than one-third of what the Tampa Bay Bucs drain from the taxpayers every year - please see http://www.irreverentview.com/tampa-politics/the-glazers-fleeced-us-will-stu-sternberg-do-the-same .
I'm very much looking forward to your paper putting a price tag on the Walmart drain, and then, knowing you will do the right thing, publishing a story about the Bucs draining of the taxpayers.
Thanks for listening.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell written comparison without the rag's built-in bias...
ReplyDeleteLOL, the newspapers cannot afford to criticize the public sports trough that feeds them. In the short term, the Tampa Bay area may make terrible/economy-gutting/future-depriving financial decisions. In the long term, traditional media won't exist and Tampa Bay will always have its hotel/restaurant jobs.
ReplyDeleteAs the saying goes, print media pigs get slaughtered. Print media hogs get slaughtered.
Elsewhere in filthiest insider scams:
http://deadspin.com/report-rangers-want-new-modern-ballpark-to-replace-cur-1777774088