Bill would enforce law turning stadiums into homeless shelters on off days

[redrumloa]

Bill would enforce law turning stadiums into homeless shelters on off days

“We have spent over $300 million supporting teams that can afford to pay a guy $7, $8, $10 million a year to throw a baseball 90 feet. I think they can pay for their own stadium,” said Sen. Michael Bennett, R-Bradenton, who is pushing the bills along with Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami. “I cannot believe that we’re going to cut money out of Medicaid and take it away from homeless and take it away from the poor and impoverished, and we’re continuing to support people who are billionaires.”

Bennett’s bill would force owners of sports facilities like the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg to refund millions of dollars and begin operating homeless shelters on off-nights. So far, the state has spent more than $270 million on constructing stadiums, with the former Dolphin Stadium receiving $37 million and AAA taking $27.5 million. It is unclear whether any of the stadiums, which receive monthly subsidies of about $166,000 each, is operating an active homeless shelter program.

During Monday’s hearing, some lawmakers saw the proposal as payback for publicly financed stadium deals that have gone sour, including the recently-built Miami Marlins stadium. That $642 million stadium, funded mostly by taxpayers, featured a highly-criticized contract that leaves the City of Miami on the hook for an unexpected property tax bill.

 

[the_leander]

Now that is a good idea, but careful red, it swings mighty close to being socialist, what with making the rich care for the most needy in society.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

Now that is a good idea, but careful red, it swings mighty close to being socialist, what with making the rich care for the most needy in society.

Considering in how many cases those rich guys with successful high income teams never paid for their stadiums in the first place and got taxpayers to foot the bill, it's about time the taxpayers get to use them for something. Even where teams did kick in some for the stadium they've usually been given millions in tax breaks a from time to time the land for the stadium has been eminent domained away from some poor slobs who could use a homeless shelter now.

A lot of these teams and owners should have come forward to do stuff voluntarily by now but the chances are that if they aren't seeing the problem (and why should they - you won't see the poor from the golf course and you won't see them at the marina) putting what's going on in the world in their face might engage their normal human charity and compassion.

 

[Dammy]

Now that is a good idea, but careful red, it swings mighty close to being socialist, what with making the rich care for the most needy in society.

I can see the law suits demanding that removing the homeless for games to stop. It's their home, after all. This is not a well thought out idea. Stopping the state from spending any money on stadiums is a great idea, we can't afford it. Starting by next year, there isn't much the States will be able to pay at all.

 

[faethor]

If we have socialism for the rich to buy them stadiums we should be able to use this as the society sees fit. Homeless sheltering is one clever idea.

 

[redrumloa]

Now that is a good idea, but careful red, it swings mighty close to being socialist, what with making the rich care for the most needy in society.

Jokes or not, real conservatives don't believe in corporate welfare. These billionaires already got massive handouts for no good reason, so they should follow the law and make their publicly funded stadiums homeless shelters.

 

[Dammy]

Jokes or not, real conservatives don't believe in corporate welfare.

Agreed, that's the Progressive thing and they do it better.

These billionaires already got massive handouts for no good reason, so they should follow the law and make their publicly funded stadiums homeless shelters.

Problem with that is the courts will do their thing and cost the state even more money. I can just see the CNN/MSNBC live coverage of cops assaulting the facilities to remove the homeless in order for the clean up crews to clean the place up for the next game. Who is going to pay for that? And the injuries going to the hospitals, who is going to be paying for that? Answer is always government.

 

[faethor]

Jokes or not, real conservatives don't believe in corporate welfare.

Perhaps true. Though the party that claims to be conservative is hugely in support of corporate welfare. (yeah not Ron Paul whatever.) As such this might fall into the 'no truescotsman' fallacy.

 

[Dammy]

Perhaps true. Though the party that claims to be conservative is hugely in support of corporate welfare. (yeah not Ron Paul whatever.) As such this might fall into the 'no truescotsman' fallacy.

This could be partially solved by going to a Fair Tax and eliminate all personal/corporate taxes and eliminate federal grants entirely. This progressive taxation system is a failure, both personal and corporate so why keep it?

 

[robert l. bentham]

a "place to sleep" is a "home" meets no mans definition of "home". warehousing on either a temporary or semi-permanent levels doesn't actually fix the machinations of humanity that spit more humans out into the pool everyday...

 

[Dammy]

a "place to sleep" is a "home" meets no mans definition of "home". warehousing on either a temporary or semi-permanent levels doesn't actually fix the machinations of humanity that spit more humans out into the pool everyday...

I can see the ACLU lawyers taking a few years in the courts to get to that level of a decision in federal judge.