6.24.07
DREW SHARP: Sports fans face harsh reality of troubled times
There's ample justification for outrage over tax increases. The federal, state and local governments constantly have a hand in our wallets, asking us to subsidize their unwillingness to spend within their means.
It's the public's money, so let the public determine where it does or doesn't go.
The so-called ticket tax that's under debate in the state legislature offers the public that choice.
Each person must decide which privileges they deem important to their everyday lives amid a dying economy that's gradually choking the life out of this state. If you don't want to pay extra for a sports ticket, if it no longer agrees with the tight demands on your household budget, then don't buy it.
It's simple. Stay home! Watch it on television! Then the hemorrhaging state coffers don't get an extra dime from you.
But Lansing is banking on the fan's inability to walk away from his beloved teams, whatever the price, and officials are probably right. I doubt it would have a dramatic effect on ticket sales. If chronically bad football hasn't cost the Lions consistent sellouts, then an added 6% to the cost of a ticket won't do it, either.
Mike Ilitch has expressed his displeasure with the proposal, citing that the 6% increase could cost a family of four as much as $1,200 for Tigers season tickets and as much as $1,900 for Wings season tickets.
Such a stance makes him a hero to the common man who thinks he has been frozen out of the traditional family experience of taking the kids to a ballgame. But that freezing out started long before this idea germinated in the minds of state officials.
Ilitch saw Joe Louis Arena sold out only once during the Wings' playoff run. As a response, he may have to maintain the same price or release a couple thousand tickets the day of the game at a reduced cost next spring.
The state is a fiscal mess because politicians from every party at every level ignored the necessity of diversifying Michigan from its manufacturing base 10 years ago. They were more interested in keeping their own jobs by catering to their respective special-interest groups.
Shared sacrifice is the only answer. That means drastic spending cuts that hurt everybody equally.
That's the reality. That's where the real fight lies. Battling over a potential luxury tax on sports events represents a distorted priority.
Contact DREW SHARP at 313-223-4055 or dsharp@freepress.com.
There's ample justification for outrage over tax increases. The federal, state and local governments constantly have a hand in our wallets, asking us to subsidize their unwillingness to spend within their means.
It's the public's money, so let the public determine where it does or doesn't go.
The so-called ticket tax that's under debate in the state legislature offers the public that choice.
Each person must decide which privileges they deem important to their everyday lives amid a dying economy that's gradually choking the life out of this state. If you don't want to pay extra for a sports ticket, if it no longer agrees with the tight demands on your household budget, then don't buy it.
It's simple. Stay home! Watch it on television! Then the hemorrhaging state coffers don't get an extra dime from you.
But Lansing is banking on the fan's inability to walk away from his beloved teams, whatever the price, and officials are probably right. I doubt it would have a dramatic effect on ticket sales. If chronically bad football hasn't cost the Lions consistent sellouts, then an added 6% to the cost of a ticket won't do it, either.
Mike Ilitch has expressed his displeasure with the proposal, citing that the 6% increase could cost a family of four as much as $1,200 for Tigers season tickets and as much as $1,900 for Wings season tickets.
Such a stance makes him a hero to the common man who thinks he has been frozen out of the traditional family experience of taking the kids to a ballgame. But that freezing out started long before this idea germinated in the minds of state officials.
Ilitch saw Joe Louis Arena sold out only once during the Wings' playoff run. As a response, he may have to maintain the same price or release a couple thousand tickets the day of the game at a reduced cost next spring.
The state is a fiscal mess because politicians from every party at every level ignored the necessity of diversifying Michigan from its manufacturing base 10 years ago. They were more interested in keeping their own jobs by catering to their respective special-interest groups.
Shared sacrifice is the only answer. That means drastic spending cuts that hurt everybody equally.
That's the reality. That's where the real fight lies. Battling over a potential luxury tax on sports events represents a distorted priority.
Contact DREW SHARP at 313-223-4055 or dsharp@freepress.com.
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