The Coalition Against the Sin Tax held a press conference yesterday to offer up an alternative avenue of funding to replace the proposed Sin Tax extension.
This "Fair Share" Facility Fee would be $3.25 per ticket for events held at Progressive Field, Quicken Loans Arena & First Energy Stadium. This proposed fee would generate an amount roughly equal ($13 - $14 million per year) to what is raised with the current Sin Tax on cigarettes & alcohol.
The hypocrisy of the pro-sin tax crowd is priceless. Without even looking at it -- they immediately dismiss the Fair Share plan of being hastily put together.
Really? This coming from the same people that did not consider any alternative funding measures and came directly to the people at the first opportunity they could.
It is time to come together to put a stop to this corporate cabal of charlatan's - The Greater Cleveland Partnership - that have been fleecing this area for far too long.
For those that may not remember - always having their hands in our pockets - the Greater Cleveland Partnership is the same group that pushed the forced sales tax increase for the Med Mart too. And the same as they did then they are doing now - looking straight to the residents to pay for their projects.
Vote No on the Sin Tax (Issue 7)
Below is a copy of the Fair Share Plan from the Coalition Against the Sin Tax.
Fair Share Facility Fee proposal, a preferable alternative to the proposed 20-year $260 million Sin Tax up... by Andrea Torres
This issue is the absurdity of absurdities. Let me get this straight: the purpose of the Sin Tax is to gouge those who purchase alcohol and cigarettes not because anyone is trying to discourage consumption but rather so the County can use that money to pay for sports stadiums that do not produce anything but a fleeting moment witnessing the passing of a football, the dribbling of a basketball and the throwing of a baseball so that such a minute tidbit of diversion can be enjoyed by all. The stupidity of this proposition is enough to make your head spin even though the spin doctors advocating passage of this nonsense are already doing a pretty good job of hypnotizing the voters to actually consider supporting it. At least the Robber Barons of the previous centuries provided something tangible such as oil, steel, railroads etcetera. These team owners do not even provide one tangible thing that could ever be considered with the term “value added.” Almost everyone discusses this “enterprise” as though it is the same thing as industry {which it is not}. The price of admission is essentially a voluntary tax paid by those who can afford it to pay those who don’t need it. If this isn’t a transfer of wealth I don’t know what is.
ReplyDeleteThe real outrage here is the fact that taxes on alcohol and cigarettes will not be used to aid in the reduction of addiction {hence the reference to “sin”} but rather to stuff the pockets of all three teams who could easily afford to pay for the repairs themselves. The vote was rammed through the last time {under somewhat suspicious circumstances} and hear we go again. But this time...not so fast!!! We the voters of Cuyahoga County are going to fight the proponents on this one and we don't care if the teams up and go somewhere else {please see my views on entertainment below} because quite frankly there are simply more important things than sports and the unearned money that comes with it. Those in public office who are too stupid and lazy to find other ways to grow a major American city need to resign and leave their self-seeking political ambitions on the scrapheap of history. Don’t ever let it be said that this was time when the tide ran out on Cuyahoga County but rather was the time when the voters rose up to welcome the rising tide of change and rebuked this pathetic paradigm our previous elected leaders embraced. Let the battle be joined.
And now to the real underlying issue at hand:
One of the most disturbing facts about our capitalist nation is the misappropriation of funds directed to the salaries of entertainers. Everyone should agree that the value an athlete, movie star, talk-show host, team-owner, etcetera brings to the average citizen is very small. Granted, they do offer a minuscule of diversion from our daily trials and tribulations as did the jesters in the king's court during the middle ages. But to allow these entertainers to horde such great amounts of wealth at the expense of more benevolent societal programs is unacceptable. They do not provide a product or a service so why are they rewarded as such?
Our society is also subjected to the "profound wisdom" of these people because it equates wealth with influence. Perhaps a solution to this problem and a alternative to defeated school levies, crumbling infrastructures, as well as all the programs established to help feed, clothe and shelter those who cannot help themselves would be to tax this undeserved wealth. Entertainers could keep 1% of the gross earnings reaped from their endeavor and 99% could be deposited into the public coffers.
The old ideas of the redistribution of wealth have failed, and it is time to adapt to modern-day preferences. People put their money into entertainment above everything else; isn't it time to tap that wealth? Does anyone think this will reduce the quality of entertainment? It seems to me that when entertainers received less income, the quality was much higher.
Thanks for commenting.
DeleteYou are correct many of the elected leaders that agreed to these poor leases are gone. Though some - like Frank Jackson - is still around.
That being said - the same cadre of corporate clowns that pushed the Sin Tax, the forced Med Mart sales tax increase and still have us paying for Gateway.
http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2013/01/cuyahoga_county_still_paying_off_gateway_bonds.html