I’m impressed by the D.C. Council’s vote to provide just 50% of the funding for the baseball stadium for the former Expos. This vote hasn’t gone over well among some, but I think it’s great. I’m as big a baseball fan as the next guy — probably moreso — and I’d love to see D.C. get a team again. But public funding for stadiums is just stupid. It’s a proven financial loser for municipalities and, consequently, for taxpayers. I don’t think that government has any business subsidizing baseball. It’s bad enough that the MLB has been afforded monopoly status by the courts, but to have impoverished cities like D.C. being expected to pony up hundreds of millions of dollars to a private business is just ludicrous.
So, as the Australians say, good on them. I hope that things still go forward, without the taxpayers footing the bill.