As the US private sector dies, so does stadium boom

5/13/10: "One thing is certain: the bubble in stadium construction is over. Even if we weren’t in a weak economy, the fact remains that virtually every team now plays in a new venue already.

• The few franchises that do not have state-of-the-art new homes are concentrated in
• California and Florida—

• states with serious budget problems in which

• new taxpayer-funded stadiums would be unthinkable."...*****

US transitions to welfare state without enough actual production to support the larger non-productive sector. Certainly not enough to fill 30 baseball stadiums. 5/25/10, "Private pay shrinks to historic lows as gov't payouts rise," USA Today, by Dennis Cauchon:

• "Paychecks from private business shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history during the first quarter of this year, a USA TODAY analysis of government data finds.

At the same time, government-provided benefits — from Social Security, unemployment insurance, food stamps and other programs —

• rose to a record high during the first three months of 2010....

The trend is not sustainable,(see Greece, ed) says University of Michigan economist Donald Grimes. Reason:

• The federal government depends on private wages to generate income taxes to pay for its ever-more-expensive programs.

Government-generated income is taxed at lower rates or not at all, he says. "This is really important," Grimes says."...

• 3/31/09, the Star-Ledger: "NJ radio station holds "funeral for the middle class" to protest state budget"

Tweet Stumbleupon StumbleUpon