Texas hypocrites spend $31 mil in tax money on SB while trying to cut teachers

That's what Sally Jenkins writes about today in The Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/07/AR2011020705610.html

I don't care much about the $19 margaritas and $900 parking that she cites as signs of NFL debauchery. The market gets what the market can bear. It allows me to watch it on TV with my friends, as I prefer anyway.

But the use of tax money to subsidize the NFL and other pro sports is obscene. Of course, I guess I don't hate it that much since I keep supporting the leagues.

 

Re: Texas hypocrites spend $31 mil in tax money on SB while trying to cut teache

yeah, because nowhere else but texas does this. :

 

Which doesn't make it OK.

 

I can only imagine the fun Molly Ivins would've had with this.

 

The argument is that you spend $31 million and generate much more than that in revenue from tourists, etc.

 

Parking is only worth what someone will pay for it and if someone is dumb enough to pay $900 then congratulations to the person who was insightful enough to sell it to them for that much.

 

Texas has made its priorities abundantly clear re: education.

Hopefully the other states are smart enough not to follow suit.

 

Fly Navy jets over a domed stadium...

I guess that was for the benefit of the sheeple who paid $200 to sit in the parking lot to watch the game.

 

I'd like to see a breakdown of that $31 million, and where it went. My guess is that it was for a lot of security.

But at the same time, yeah, she has a lot of points. The Navy fighter jet thing is absolutely true. They can do a lot of cheaper things for their $450K in their recruiting budget than a two-second flight over a domed stadium. And why Texas decided to finance a quarter of Jerry's stadium, when it ended up costing double is beyond me. They should have set a fixed amount, and have Jerry cover the overruns.

Similar to the new Yankee Stadium. It was supposed to cost something like $800 million. Instead, it ended up costing $1.3 billion, and the taxpayers got on the hook for that. Just because the Steinbrenners wanted a bigger video board doesn't mean the taxpayers should have had to pay it.

 

New state slogan:

Texas -- What? You can't afford private school?

 

No one should be surprised. This is a long line Texas is in.

 

How much tax money did the SB bring in? It's only fair to condemn the money spent if it wasn't a good investment.