Monday, May 19, 2014

It's Still All About The Super Bowl

No other city in America makes hosting one single event its biggest priority as a municipal government besides Indianapolis. We may not have money to hire enough police, fix our streets and sidewalks, maintain our parks or pay for other basic city services, but we will sacrifice everything for the sake of hosting a Super Bowl. Why? What in the hell is wrong with this city that so much emphasis is put on hosting an event that costs tens of millions of dollars to host and benefits so few in the community?

The media doesn't ask any hard questions. It's just nonstop propaganda pushing the meme that, of course, it is something we must do at any cost. Every media outlet is promoting upbeat stories about the great presentation the local Super Bowl Committee has put together for the billionaire NFL team owners in Atlanta who will decide tomorrow who gets to host the 2018 Super Bowl. The pill-popping owner of the Indianapolis Colts came out of rehab to lead the efforts to the delight of his friends in the media. He tweeted that over $31 million has been raised prior to this week's vote to host the 2018 event.

The absolute worst thing that could happen to the future of Indianapolis is if the City wins the 2018 bid and is put on a permanent rotation to host it. Why? Because the nonprofit Super Bowl committee drains away tens of millions of dollars from corporate donors for the opportunity to host an event whose attendance is limited only to the wealthiest of wealthy that could be used for far more worthy causes. It's become nothing more than a gathering of elitist scumbags who feel the need to show off their wealth. The only true winners are the NFL team owners, the country's wealthiest citizens, who pay not one dime of the costs of hosting their exclusive party. The local taxpayers get to pick up the bill for everything, and the so-called economic benefits derived from hosting it flow out of the City, not to it, contrary to the false claims of backers of the Super Bowl bid.

Because the media is so embedded in the efforts of the local Super Bowl committee, there is no scrutiny of how the tens of millions of dollars raised by the committee are being spent. It's becoming a massive money laundering operation that is enriching a handful of members of the downtown mafia who pretend to put civic virtue ahead of their self-serving interests, and there is not a sole in the local news media who will tell you the truth about why they really want to make hosting a Super Bowl a permanent part of the fabric of this city. Meanwhile, you are going to be socked with yet another tax increase this year to pay for more police officers the media tells you is necessary because revenues are lacking. Yet they have already decided behind closed doors that they are going to provide tens of millions of dollars in subsidies to two politically-connected real estate developers to build two new luxury hotels for downtown. The bottom line is that the downtown mafia has bought off most of the local politicians and your priorities don't matter unless that's what it takes to fool you into going along with another tax increases to pay for their never-ending party. When will people wake up and hit the reset button?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"What in the hell is wrong with this city that so much emphasis is put on hosting an event that costs tens of millions of dollars to host and benefits so few in the community?"

It's a huge inferiority complex. Indy doesn't believe it can compete against other cities on amenities, roads, quality of life, etc., so it tries to compete on sports, a field which it believes has actual meaning.

This perspective is horribly immature. Other cities don't care about sports to the extent Indy does. Real cities have real matters to worry about.

Indy is a government version of the loser adult coaching Little League who issues dugout orders to the tykes with all the seriousness of Tony LaRussa in the World Series.

Grow up, Indy. Watching sports is what you're into if you're into nothing else. People who are really heavy into sports often have empty lives.

Fix the streets, and build new streets. Carmel is building a great city with fast, wide, maintained roads, and they're letting stupid Indy pay for their sports entertainment.

Pete Boggs said...

TIF hearing today 5/19 (Tax Incremental Fascism) proposal 77 for ~$31M, held in Room 260 of the City County building, 5:30PM.

What is this other than fascism (aka crony capitalism, corporatism, etc.)?

Anonymous said...

Bravo, Gary! Bravo!!

Anonymous said...

I think Wrtv6 did a great investigative story on this issue with the disclosure you are now perpetuating...Good work folks...