Some of you remember that I live in St. Louis, MO. Most of you would recognize St. Louis as the home of Cardinals' Baseball Rams' Football and Anheuser Busch Beer ! (among other things, of course; like the Gateway Arch, The Mississippi River and Boeing/Douglas Aircraft) Sports venues are BIG BUSINESS in this city. I am a Cardinals' fan, I can take or leave football, and I have been known to drink my share of beer!
Just three years ago the property tax payers of this city voted to float a bond that helped pay for the (then new) home for the St. Louis Rams professional football franchise This bond costs each property owner approximately $10 additional taxes each year/per $10,000 evaluation. (our house valued at $80,000 costs us about $100 more taxes) I voted NO on this poposition, but it carried because voters were assured that the football stadium/convention dome would bring more business into downtown St. Louis.
Now, taxpayers are again being asked to float a bond to help pay for a (proposed) $1.9 Billion Dollar sports/shopping/entertainment/hotel complex. It would be the New Home for the St. Louis Cardinals Baseball!!! The team owner, Anheiuser Busch, Inc. would pay the "lion's share", but they want the taxpayers to "float" $20 Million of the cost! This would be a sales tax that everyone pays as opposed to a property owners' tax. Our current stadium is only 35yrs. old and they update it every season to justify higher ticket prices! I am AGAINST this proposal also. Busch "threatens" to sell the team if we can't come up with a New Home for them. That is blackmail. Again, proponents say that it would be a small investment to make compared to all the "extra business" the team would bring to downtown St. Louis!!!!!!! (you can't even find a place to park when you come downtown now to the sports/entertainment events we already host) I see this as a gross waste of funds and tax revenue. The Busch Corp. can well afford the whole $1.9 Billion!
Let's talk about using/finding or
appropriating some tax funds to help house our Homeless Population (which numbers 3,000+ people in a city of 1.7 million!) or, how about, Job Training and Placement for our unemployed and unskilled. (over 5,000 in the inner St. Louis area, alone).
Please understand that I am not against professional sports but just think that there are more important places to put tax money. How do some of you feel? I did not mean for this to get so involved, but I wanted to give you the background details. The Homeless issue is one that I feel very close to; as I volunteer with The New-Life Evangelical Ministry which devotes 100% of its effort to our city's homeless men, women and children. You may not be aware of the fact that there are just as many(if not more at times) homeless women and children on our streets than just single men. . . . . Let's pull up a chair around Debra's or my kitchen table and disuss this.
Just three years ago the property tax payers of this city voted to float a bond that helped pay for the (then new) home for the St. Louis Rams professional football franchise This bond costs each property owner approximately $10 additional taxes each year/per $10,000 evaluation. (our house valued at $80,000 costs us about $100 more taxes) I voted NO on this poposition, but it carried because voters were assured that the football stadium/convention dome would bring more business into downtown St. Louis.
Now, taxpayers are again being asked to float a bond to help pay for a (proposed) $1.9 Billion Dollar sports/shopping/entertainment/hotel complex. It would be the New Home for the St. Louis Cardinals Baseball!!! The team owner, Anheiuser Busch, Inc. would pay the "lion's share", but they want the taxpayers to "float" $20 Million of the cost! This would be a sales tax that everyone pays as opposed to a property owners' tax. Our current stadium is only 35yrs. old and they update it every season to justify higher ticket prices! I am AGAINST this proposal also. Busch "threatens" to sell the team if we can't come up with a New Home for them. That is blackmail. Again, proponents say that it would be a small investment to make compared to all the "extra business" the team would bring to downtown St. Louis!!!!!!! (you can't even find a place to park when you come downtown now to the sports/entertainment events we already host) I see this as a gross waste of funds and tax revenue. The Busch Corp. can well afford the whole $1.9 Billion!
Let's talk about using/finding or
appropriating some tax funds to help house our Homeless Population (which numbers 3,000+ people in a city of 1.7 million!) or, how about, Job Training and Placement for our unemployed and unskilled. (over 5,000 in the inner St. Louis area, alone).
Please understand that I am not against professional sports but just think that there are more important places to put tax money. How do some of you feel? I did not mean for this to get so involved, but I wanted to give you the background details. The Homeless issue is one that I feel very close to; as I volunteer with The New-Life Evangelical Ministry which devotes 100% of its effort to our city's homeless men, women and children. You may not be aware of the fact that there are just as many(if not more at times) homeless women and children on our streets than just single men. . . . . Let's pull up a chair around Debra's or my kitchen table and disuss this.