Minneapolis: “We Can’t Be Bankrupt – We Still Have Checks!”
By Mitch Berg
The government of Minneapolis under the last (note to Mitchell: find the number of consecutive DFL mayors the city has had) has observed that old Scarsdale ritual:”Take care of the luxuries, and the necessities will take care of themselves!”
And it’s working about as well as it does for any entitled Insurance salesperson’s spouse:
According to the city Finance Department, Minneapolis is on the hook for about $1.6 billion in debt and operational costs for the convention center, the Vikings stadium, and the Timberwolves arena over the next 20 years.
Broken down, that’s an annual three checks adding up to $80 million, money that’s off the table for paving East Franklin Avenue, fixing swings at Kenwood Park, or financing low-interest business loans on West Broadway.Instead of economic development, a city chose rich man’s stadiums.
That also explains why the City Council today is expected to approve spending another $800 million to fix crumbling roadways and haggard parks over the next 20 years.
Simply put, a lot of money is already gone
The funny part; while the situation in Minneapolis no doubt will spawn a few instant budget hawks, five will get you 10 the thin trickle of media that do bother to cover the story will be back shilling for the DFL by Labor Day.
May 4th, 2016 at 8:54 am
thin trickle of media that do bother to cover the story will be baying for more taxes on the rich to cover the shortfall. Budget hawks? Really? This is Minneapolis, Merg!
May 4th, 2016 at 9:00 am
So you get the subtle, intended irony, then?
May 4th, 2016 at 9:05 am
Just wanted to make sure everyone else got it.
May 4th, 2016 at 9:23 am
Here’s my idea of the day.
Whenever a politician has to explain something stupid, like why they are spending hundreds of millions on a stadium when the streets are rutted and full of pot holes, they should blame it on “older housing stock.” Like this:
“Hey, council member, why did you build a gazillion dollar stadium when the plows take a week to get to my street?”
“Well, the issue is really old housing stock. Old housing stock means that a lot of residents have to park on the street, and there are alleys to be plowed, and it takes more plows more time to get to everyone.”
“Hey, council member, why are there so many street crimes and drug dealing on the North Side?”
“You really need to look at the issue of old housing stock. Old housing stock means that many neighborhoods have dense populations and low rent, and this tends to concentrate poor people in a few areas, and we all know that poverty is the number one cause of street crime.”
May 4th, 2016 at 9:57 am
Let me see if I get the irony here, BG. This is why poor are being displaced and dispersed into subsidized housing in the burbs among the bedroom communities, and warehouses are being converted into fashionable lofts for the elites. Right?
May 4th, 2016 at 10:02 am
You can’t have gentrification unless there is old housing stock to be rehabbed. QED. Old housing stock is destroying established, minority communities. It’s a damn shame.
May 4th, 2016 at 12:32 pm
Hey, it’s just another $120 million a year….certainly the 100,000 or so households and businesses in the city won’t minding their fair share of an additional grand or so, no?
May 4th, 2016 at 1:20 pm
Old housing stock got my dog pregnant.
May 4th, 2016 at 1:52 pm
Swiftee: Old Mpls housing stock got my wife pregnant. Before our kid could enroll in one of Mpls’ finest public citadels of learning, we moved to the suburbs.
May 4th, 2016 at 6:41 pm
Everyone thinks the Stadium cost a $billion. Wrong. It cost a $billion plus whatever else we could have built with that $billion that we can’t no
May 5th, 2016 at 7:58 am
DMA’s got it. A billion plus interest, plus the cost of things that didn’t get done because we have a stadium. As Bastiat noted, “that which is not seen.”
May 5th, 2016 at 10:14 am
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May 5th, 2016 at 10:26 am
Pickle Ball has become very popular. A stadium would be nice – with light rail leading up to the turnstiles, thank you.