This one belongs in multiple categories -- Sports, Politics, Current Events, and probably a few more.
As I write this, the D.C. city council was supposed to have been approving the lease deal for a new stadium for the Washington Nationals, to be built in the blighted S.E. area of D.C., near the Anacostia water front.
S.E. D.C. has been a blighted area for a long time. It consists primarily of the Washington Naval Yard, an Asphalt plant, some failed (and since demolished) housing projects and reduced income apartment buildings that have also been wiped away, and a host of bathhouses and other "gay" bars known as problem spots for most law-abiding citizens.
(And please understand, I'm not trying to generalize and take swipes at gay individuals that might frequent some of the establishments there, but it is well known the businesses there are seedy at best, and not places most people would ever want to visit).
D.C., through it's mayor and city council have tried for years to find ways to get more revenue out of the workers that come to D.C., work during the day and then leave every night. They've asked the Congress repeatedly to let them implement a commuter tax where they could tax these workers that commute into and out of the city every day. They know, or at least claim to know, that these workers use city services such as roads, trash and garbage disposal, water and sewer and other services and they pay almost nothing in taxes because most aren't residents and don't buy gasoline, groceries and other taxable goods in the District of Columbia.
Last year a complete gift horse finally landed in the laps of the D.C. politicians thanks to Mayor Anthony Williams calling baseball's "bluff" and putting a sweetheart deal for baseball on the table. If MLB were to move the carpet-bagging former Montreal Expos to the District, D.C. would build a state of the art stadium for the team.
MLB in return called D.C.'s bluff, and a deal was struck to move the team to D.C.
Last year, 2.7 million fans attended MLB games at a decades old stadium. They came to D.C. from the suburbs, spent money buying concessions, spent money paying for parking, spent money going out to restaurants across town, and otherwise spread their money around in D.C. In effect a willing and eager legal commuter tax was paid.
Now, thanks to the racist stupidity of idiots on the D.C. council like David Catania -- who absolutely opposes baseball in the district and wants not one penney of "public" money to be spent on it -- and the penny pinching of others like Adrian Fenty, who has conned himself into believing that RFK can be remodelled for less, or perhaps using land at RFK would save the district money, D.C. is about to completely blow and ruin it's own legal commuter tax, the extra revenue they are collecting thanks to the MLB fans that have come to the games in D.C.
I say racist with Catania because of his absolute refusal of support for baseball. He apparently believes MLB is a "white person's sport" and isn't something that most of the districts (majority Black/African American/Negro, whatever label wishes to be used) residents care about.
Those idiots on the D.C. council that are against baseball have blatantly lied to the citizens of the district and have told them they are protecting their financial interests, and are protecting tax-payer money. The problem is that the truth is that the stadium was to be paid for by a new tax levied on businesses above a certain size (excluding small businesses) in the District so that district tax payers wouldn't be handed the bill for the stadium.
Now the entire deal is headed for disaster. MLB will likely sue the District for failing to live up to the terms of their own deal. Millions of dollars of actual tax-payer money will be lost in fines and damages paid over to MLB.
The team could possibly be moved out of the District, though it may take a year for that to happen. Meanwhile, S.E. D.C. continues to rot, the costs of a new stadium will continue to rise thanks to inflation and continued hold-outs by citizens that will be forced (eventually) to sell their property to the District for the great urban renewal project that will be the stadium and surrounding areas.
Congratulations to the idiots on the D.C. city council for potentially ruining this great boost for the city of the D.C. and for the baseball fans in the area. Your beloved commuter tax was right there for you to use to your advantage, and you've just about killed it completely. Look in the mirror and blame yourselves. And voters in D.C. that have bought the crap these pol's have sold -- consider yourselves paid back handsomely for your own stupidity. You deserve it.
