Maximilien Robespierre. Guillotine! Guillotine!
Over this past weekend the press was full of stories about how bad the previous week had been for President Obama. If it was “bad” for the president, it was awful for Virginia.
Virginia’s media went gaga over the announcement by our very own Governor Bob, who is great at extolling the virtues of the free market, that he had managed to keep the Washington Deadskins in Northern Virginia, with a helping of cash from the public treasury. The team would also move its three-week summer training camp to an “unspecified location” in Richmond , with a supplemental infusion of funds from the coffers of the cash-strapped City of Richmond.
Another story that was reported with much less fanfare last week was that the transit authority in Richmond, the GRTC, is decreasing the level of service and raising fares on buses that serve Chesterfield county because of a cut in subsidies. This is the area of central Virginia that soon will be home to two new Amazon Corporation distribution centers.
The Redskins are one of the most valuable franchises in the world of sport, rivaling the Manchester United soccer team as well as the New York Yankees. The Redskin’s owner is a multi-billionaire. The bus serves workers who didn’t appear to be lining up to take their Hampton Jitneys to their summer homes in Sag Harbor, Long Island. They were poor people trying to make it to the next pay check.
The Governor’s agenda, joined by Mayor Jones, is not only morally repugnant but terrible public policy. Virtually no unbiased academic research shows that public subsidy of athletic facilities leads to significant economic benefits for the taxpayer (check the website for the National Bureau of Economic Research). In recent history the Republican Board of Supervisors of Chesterfield County showered SportsQuest (an athletic and recreation complex) with Santa’s bag of financial goodies at taxpayer expense. The project is now bankrupt.
As all good Republicans should know, let the market allocate capital.
– D. Leslie Schreiber
Point well taken.
And, speaking of Republicans ….
Why have no Republicans complained about the NFL violating Virginia’s right to work status?
Every player in the NFL is in the Player’s Union. It is a closed shop.
The MWAA tried to give extra points for companies with PLAs. They were told that Virginia would not support Phase II of Rail to Dulles if that provision were not rescinded.
Then, the state (along with Richmond and Loudoun County) agrees to give the Redskins (a totally unionized organization) $6M to stay in the state.
Hmmmmmm ……
I think we should hold Bacon down and tickle him mercilessly until he answers this question.
What about this Jim? Is this yet another example of the hypocrisy of the guys you hang out with?
The guys I hang out with? I don’t spend much time with the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors. And just a reminder, I was very critical myself of the Redskins deal, which was, as Les observes, an inexcusable giveaway to a multi-billionaire.
As for the SportsQuest deal, I haven’t blogged about that, but it is a fiasco — worse even than Les describes. What was particularly inexcusable about the deal is that the promoter behind the sports complex was known to have a spotty track record, the economics of the deal were questionable, and the financing behind the deal was known to be shaky. I find it extraordinary that the BoS would have gotten involved.
De-funding the GRTC routes makes a nice contrast — providing money for middle-class amenities but taking it away from poor people — but I don’t see that as the atrocity that Les does. OK, the action does make it difficult for poor Richmond residents to apply for the Amazon.com jobs. But, trust me, there is a vast pool of unemployed people in the Petersburg area who need them just as much. Is it the really the responsibility of the Chesterfield board to take care of unemployed Richmonders? By cutting the subsidies, they narrow the competition for jobs that now are more likely to go to Chesterfield residents.
Okay, here’s another question for Les/Jim. How come Virginia does not outlaw companies and their unions that do not conform to Va right-to-work laws?
Why do they look the other way when “forced membership” unions in effect for other companies that do business in Virginia?
Why don’t the laws make it illegal for ALL companies doing business in Va?
Larry, there are many old-line corporations — DuPont is one that springs to mind — that have signed national contracts with labor unions that extend to their operations in Virginia. I can only suppose that the Interstate Commerce Clause and federal law prevails over state law in these cases. I would imagine that the issue you raise was litigated and settled long ago.
Yet, there is nothing wrong with charging ordinary people $10, $12 & even $17 tolls on the DTR to build a rail line that does NOT provide them with any relief from traffic congestion. Indeed, the traffic engineers have indicated a need to widen the DTR with as many as 3-to-5 lanes because of added traffic volumes triggered by the arrival of rail.
I’m not arguing for subsidies for pro sports. But all politicians bow to the top on sports. Even a self-proclaimed liberal as Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton supported the use of taxpayer money to build a new pro football stadium.
Right-to-work means the company and union cannot agree to any contract that requires an employee to join, or prohibits an employee from joining a labor union or pay equivalent dues as a condition of employment. It’s all about individual choice.
so right-to-work in Va makes what the Redskin players do – illegal?
why doesn’t the Cooch go after them?
In fact, wouldn’t it be true that Va is derelict in enforcing the law and using selective enforcement?
Larry, you could play Tight End for the Redskins and not join the Players Union. Similarly, you could play Tight End for the Redskins and join the Players Union. If anyone tried to force your decision, you could sue them.
and if the players union strikes?
Then there is a strike. Collective bargaining and the right to strike is governed and protected by the Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act), as modified by the Taft-Hartley Act. The latter also outlawed the closed shop and protected states with right-to-work laws.
Unions can and do operate successfully in right-to-work states, e.g., Nevada and, from my own personal experience, Iowa and Nebraska.
“Unions can and do operate successfully in right-to-work states”
in contravention to the state laws?
how come the Cooch sues the Feds over health care dictates but not right-to-work issues?
Larry, a person can join a union in Virginia. Some do. Many do in Nevada. Las Vegas is a heavily unionized community. What cannot happen in an RtW state is what happened to me in Minnesota when I was a high school senior. To work at Montgomery Ward, I either had to join the Teamsters or pay a dues equivalent. When my kids were hired by Giant, they did not have to join the union to work.
ok.. got it… thanks! so there are Redskins who have not joined the players association?
And the Redskins would rather be in a RtW state rather than DC or MD?