"Not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven...." You may
recognize those words. That was LeBron James's description of the number of NBA
basketball championships he expected his new team, the Miami Heat, to win when
he went there in 2010.
"Not one, not two, not three, but four." Those words you won't hear spoken.
That's the number of billionaire families the Hennepin County Commission and
the Minneapolis City Council are considering supporting with tax breaks so
those billionaires -- Carlson, McGuire, Pohlad, and Taylor -- can be guaranteed
they'll make money on their investment in a soccer team and stadium.
To be fair, it's arguable whether McGuire is a billionaire -- he says no -- but
that may be because of his $468 million settlement with the Securities and
Exchange Commission for his years of back-dated stock options while he presided
over United Healthcare.
The issue isn't the demeaning and stupid competition between Minneapolis and
St. Paul that some people are focusing on. No, the issue is the willingness of
the County Commission, the City Council and the Mayor to succumb to panhandling
billionaires. There ought to be a law against billionaires who do that.
And my, how our City Council has progressed in four years. On October 21, 2011,
the Council passed a resolution that, among other clauses, included these
words:
"Whereas, income inequality in America is greater than at any time since the
Great Depression, with the top 1% income bracket controlling 42% of all wealth
(Levy Institute, 2010); and
"Whereas, the International Monetary Fund found that greater income inequality
suppresses economic growth (IMP 2011);
"Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved by the City Council of The City of Minneapolis:
"That in order to create a shared dialogue through which to address the
problems and generate solutions for 99% of Americans the City stands in support
of peaceful calls for serious reforms to the income tax, financial, and
electoral systems, and of education efforts in furtherance of those goals."
I guess tax subsidies for billionaires are part of those education efforts.
Just words.
Chuck Turchick
Phillips