On the stadium issue, the pubbies are just as guilty. In the Pittsburgh region, we defeated the an initiative by roughly 70% to 30% and the powers that be then conspired in Harrisburg to ram it through. Oh, there was plenty of 'lawmakers' claiming that they were against it, but when it came down to it, they mostly sold out for something for their region.
The total bill for the stadiums to be built in both cities have to include not only what you see on the surface, but all of the other pet projects around the state that were done to seal the deal plus interest costs for the next 30 years - Totalling at least ONE BILLION DOLLARS. But the politicians are telling people that they didn't raise taxes to give money to the sports teams. No, they didn't raise taxes, they just raised the debt ceiling and extended payments for our lifetimes.