Kucinich attacks Yankee Stadium deal

[El Supremo]

Take that, you Yankee fans!

WASHINGTON (AP)—A congressional panel has taken tough swings at the New York Yankees and New York City government over a new stadium for the Yankees. But neither the team nor the city budged from their positions on the $1.3 billion structure.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich said Thursday he found “waste and abuse of public dollars” in the financing of the new stadium under construction in the South Bronx.

Kucinich is an Ohio Democrat who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He charged that city officials misrepresented to the IRS the value of the property, helping them to get special tax deals from the federal government and in effect dumping the cost of construction onto taxpayers. No one from the either the city or the Yankees spoke at the hearing.

(snip)

Earlier this week, Bloomberg defended the deal, calling it “a great project.”

“We want these kinds of facilities here. Having new stadiums is as important as other things in terms of, not just the spirit for the people who live here, but our economy,” Bloomberg said.

That’s not how several Democrats on the panel saw it.

“In the case of the new Yankee Stadium, not only have we found waste and abuse of public dollars subsidizing a project that is for the exclusive benefit of a private entity, the Yankees, but also we have discovered serious questions about the accuracy of certain representations made by the City of New York to the federal government,” Kucinich said....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080918/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/yankee_stadium_congress_5

[Captain Hilts]

1. Welfare for the wealthy especially when cities vote AGAINST them and they're built anyway. nt

[joeybee12]

2. I think Seattle put the tax issue three times on the ballot before the

voters approved paying for their new stadiums...just keep beating them down and eventually the wealthy get their way.

[Captain Hilts]

4. I think both Pittsburgh and Philly voted 'No' on the separate baseball and football...

stadiums and the cities built them anyway.

[joeybee12]

5. makes you feel insignificant, doesn't it?

So much for living in a democracy

[Captain Hilts]

6. I'll say this, Jack Kent Cooke paid for the 'Skinz stadium from his own pocket.

Taxpayers paid for the roads going into it and some water lines.

Now, Maryland taxpayers paid every cent for the Orioles and Ravens' stadium. I don't really mind paying for baseball because it's 80+ events a year. But football stadiums are a TOTAL waste.

[joeybee12]

7. And all the games are going to cable...

...it's getting harder to be a fan of football.

[Captain Hilts]

8. And baseball. Not to mention hockey. nt

[hughee99]

9. I believe the Gillette Stadium was the same way...

the town/state poured a lot of money into the infrastructure, but the stadium was built with private money. Now they're putting up a lot of commercial stuff (shops, restaurants, etc) on the same property so all this enhanced infrastructure won't only be used just for a few football games and concerts.

I think they have soccer there, too ;)

[Captain Hilts]

10. yes, I think Kiam [?] did so. Both crappy stadiums, but not tax boondoggles. nt

[Krakowiak]

11. We never approved Safeco Field

Voted it down, they built it anyway....

[Auggie]

3. Kooch hits another home run

Thank you, Congressman.