The Billionaires' Club

New York Times ^ | April 4, 2005 | Bob Herbert

[Brilliant]

Hey, Bob... This is what happens when you give government a lot of money to spend. This is the natural result of what you've been espousing for decades.

[durasell]

Never turn your back on a guy who has the nickname "Woody."

[2banana]

New York is going to implode soon - higher taxes on the way for already high taxes, outrageous housing costs ($3000/month for a studio), crime on the upswing...

Anyone the the middle class ($30,000 - $250,000) literally can not afford to live there and will leave eventually.

The extreme poor and the billionaires will be left...

[Carry_Okie]

Hey, Bob... This is what happens when you give government a lot of money to spend.

It's what happens when government has the power to take private property for "public" use.

[ProudVet77]

Have to ask the question why?
Isn't the Meadowlands good enough for the jets? Put them back in Shea, which was paid for with government money. Putting a stadium on this property is a joke, it will be used only 8 days a year!

[cinives]

Well, the MTA property is not exactly considered "private property". Another reminder of the inexorable "tragedy of the commons" law.

[Carry_Okie]

Well, the MTA property is not exactly considered "private property".

It likely once was.

[cinives]

You are probably right - in any case, it belongs to "the government", which is "owned" by taxpayers. The taxpayers should flood their state government with outrage. Nothing disinfects better than sunshine, as they say.

[Carry_Okie]

I would support an amendment to the Constitution regarding any private property taken for public use: when that particular use is concluded, the land must be sold at fair market value.

[cinives]

It all depends on the type of "taking". If the government was only allowed to take a "right-of-way" rather than full ownership, then the land would revert to the original owners when it ceased to be of use and was "abandoned".

Many of us who stood to be negatively impacted by the Rails-To-Trails movement stood up and fought back based on this concept.

[Milton Friedman]

The late owner of the Washington Redskins exposed the whole system when he privately financed and built a state of the art stadium for $180 million.

Let's compare the costs to build a stadium:

Private market funded: $180 Million

Government funded: $2.2 BILLION

For the love of God somebody save us.

Capitalism has been replaced by statism.

[dennisw]

Welfare for the ultra rich

[Carry_Okie]

It all depends on the type of "taking". If the government was only allowed to take a "right-of-way" rather than full ownership, then the land would revert to the original owners when it ceased to be of use and was "abandoned".

A right of way is private property. ROWs are deeded, tradable, and you can borrow against one.

Many of us who stood to be negatively impacted by the Rails-To-Trails movement stood up and fought back based on this concept.

Indeed a classic example of the problem. Once the bureaucrats have their hands on private property, there is no end to it. Abandoned waterfront properties are another classic example.

[Brilliant]

Why doesn't the federal government just ban state and local governments from spending public money on stadiums? There is no benefit to be had by one city competing against another city to decide who can build the best stadium with taxpayer's money.

[dennisw]

Back in 1965 Shea Stadium was built for $28 Million. And it's still being used.

[CORedneck]

NYC, considered a "Member's Only" like other places like California, Connecticut. Only the elite and executives can live well, all others are required to struggle.

New York is going to implode soon - higher taxes on the way for already high taxes, outrageous housing costs ($3000/month for a studio), crime on the upswing...

Anyone the the middle class ($30,000 - $250,000) literally can not afford to live there and will leave eventually.

The extreme poor and the billionaires will be left...

[sergeantdave]

It should be interesting when "Woody" asks the mayor to condemn thousands of perfectly good homes as a public nuisance (blighted) to make parking spots.

Of course with the newly expanded "public use" clause that's morphed into the Marxist "public good," I'm sure "Woody" will be allowed to destroy thousands of homes, churches and businesses. Maybe the serfs who get thrown from their property can be declared "misfits" and forced to build the parking lots at gulag prices.

[Waterleak]

Outrageous costs of living has driven a lot of people away in the past few years but a coming crime wave will rid the place of a lot more people. I'm not from there but NYC seems to have these cyles of crime every 20 years or so, and they are about due.

[theFIRMbss]

>Welfare for the ultra rich

Why are folks bitching?!
Millions of people will love
the new stadium,

and enjoy the sports,
and many, many thousands
will profit from jobs

building the new place
and tearing down the old place.
(I swear, last few weeks,

it seems like FR
has fewer Republicans
than it has oddballs!)

[joesnuffy]

One terrorist attack could clean out the whole areas population making it easy enough to bulldoze whole neighborhoods for parking....

Naw the terrorists wouldn't do that do...maybe if they got a piece of the action...

;)