"If you can't get rich dealing with politicians, there's something wrong with you" -- Donald Trump
Sure. Nobody wants to get rid of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team or any professional sports team for that matter from their local economy, but at what cost do we keep them?
According to this article by Bruce Murphy at Urban Milwaukee, the total cost for the arena on the body collective of taxpayers (Federal, state, city, county, including tax exemptions exclusive to the deal) and oddly left unreported by corporate media sources comes close to ONE BILLION DOLLARS.
The unseen hits on local taxpayers in the deal include a property tax extraction of $450M from the General Fund over the next 30 years for the entire complex followed by anti-competitive corporate and sales tax exemptions for the team that everyone else pays followed by a sales tax exemption on luxury boxes. The hits on the little people just keep on coming. Read Murphy's take on the deal here.
Meanwhile, you can read Politifact's inconclusive (of course) review of Walker's claim that taxpayers would lose $419 million if the deal falls through and the Bucks decide to move out of state.
ADDITIONAL:
Deadspin - Bucks Co-Owner Now Works For Governor Who Pushed Through Arena Deal
The Nation - Scott Walker Is Trolling Us
Truthdig - Gov. Walker and the Democrats’ Dance: The Shady Politics Behind the Milwaukee Bucks Arena <-- Facepalm For Democrats
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