Sound Politics: Circus leaves town, disbelieving fans cry foul

July 03, 2008

Circus leaves town, disbelieving fans cry foul

Those who are bawling about the Sonics' decision to leave town are behaving like a five-year-old whose parents won't take him to the circus.

If the Sonics are a "cultural institution", then so is Chuck E. Cheese. But neither merits a public subsidy.

It is foolish to expect government to subsidize your amusements, and not only because such subsidies are wasteful and unfair. It is foolish not only because such demands only serve to enlarge government, enfeeble the citizens, reinforce a culture of dependency, and cultivate yet another class of patronage-seekers and clown-feeders.

It is also foolish because such subsidies don't even serve the fans very well, as should now be apparent. The Sonics and their fans could have found a sensible economic equilibrium -- higher ticket prices, lower salaries, less expensive venue, alternative revenue streams, whatever, if only they took care of themselves through the normal market. But by insisting that mommy government must be the one to organize the play dates, they have only ceded control of the situation to political institutions, which can be relied upon only for being unreliable and barely responsive. And as should have been clear for months, the Sonics simply aren't a high enough priority to the local politicians and those who have the most influence. And isn't this the same lesson we learn whenever we pin our hopes on government to deliver some service that we value? Transportation? Schools? Health care? Raise your hand if you're satisfied with what government has done for you there. The only certain outcome when we insist that government do something for us is that nearly everybody will be disappointed with the outcome.

But the suckers never learn, do they?

Posted by Juvenal at July 03, 2008 05:31 PM | Email This

Comments

1. Based on what I've been reading in these threads here, I thought no one whined, or sniveled or bitched like cut cats the way the leftists do.

Until first the Paulistinians and then Sonic supporters opened a whole new can of crybaby.

Posted by: hinton on July 3, 2008 06:01 PM

2. ROFLMFAO!!! Priceless, absolutely priceless. Gee, the Sonics might even have attempted to generate some enthusiasm by WINNING once in a while. Even the deadwood Mariners managed a winning season when they needed to bilk taxpayers for a new ballpark. But NOOOOOOOOOO, the suckers will pay anyway. Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

KEEP THE CLOWN FEATURE...pleeeese!

Posted by: NW Denizen on July 3, 2008 06:08 PM

3. Well said, and on this point I could not agree more. If the Sonics couldn't make ends meet with the circus like revenue from all of the amenities inside the Arena, then they need to hire new accountants.

Seattle is actually breaking new ground here by denying to subsidize a sports team. Who would have that that a completely defective and backwards Progressive city could make such a sound decision. Well, it was really pretty much an accident, so all of the usual Progressive Seattle suspects don't deserve any credit.

Keep up the clown feature. The Puget Sound government is a Progressive Circus, it deserves nothing but ridicule.

Posted by: Jeff B. on July 3, 2008 06:55 PM

4. Finally a post on sonics that supports the conservative approach!

Posted by: Lysander on July 3, 2008 07:25 PM

5. Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, died today. He was 83. May he rest in peace.

Posted by: Obi-Wan on July 3, 2008 07:37 PM

6. @3: Seattle is actually breaking new ground here by denying to subsidize a sports team. Who would have that that a completely defective and backwards Progressive city could make such a sound decision. Well, it was really pretty much an accident, so all of the usual Progressive Seattle suspects don't deserve any credit.

Figures that they take the right action, an action that both liberals and conservatives should agree on, and you don't give credit where credit is due.

Regardless of your location on the ideological spectrum, the idea that corporations can make a killing by bilking local taxpayers is wrong.

Posted by: demo kid on July 3, 2008 10:36 PM

7. How much pain can fans endure? We already have two heartbreaking loser teams: the Mariners and the Seahawks.

Let the Okies see how winning a lot of regular games but losing in the playoffs feels...

Posted by: John Bailo on July 4, 2008 01:13 AM

8. "Regardless of your location on the ideological spectrum, the idea that corporations can make a killing by bilking local taxpayers is wrong"...

Yet its O.K. for people like Sims, Nickels, Gregoire, McDermott, Murray, and Cantwell to do so?

Just asking...

Posted by: juandos on July 4, 2008 05:17 AM

9. Goodness, with all the acrimony in these posts over the Sonics leaving town, one might conclude this is a newsworthy event.

Sonics, Gregoire.......all the same....

Good riddance to bad garbage.

Move along now, nothing to see here...

Posted by: Hank on July 4, 2008 05:56 AM

10. A moment of silence please...Bozo has passed away.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25520824/

Posted by: ITK on July 4, 2008 08:58 AM

11. juandos @ 8: no, it is not okay for any politician to continue or increase a tax in my opinion (and most conservatives).

Unfortunately GOP leadership disagrees.

Posted by: Lysander on July 4, 2008 09:03 AM

12. I for one am glad to see these public trough leeches leave, along with the threat of them relocating to the eastside. Let them "contribute" to the quality of life in Oklahoma. Dang, thats a contradiction of terms.

Posted by: paul on July 4, 2008 09:32 AM

13. @8: Yet its O.K. for people like Sims, Nickels, Gregoire, McDermott, Murray, and Cantwell to do so?

I'm not following. If you're talking about taxes in general, it shouldn't quite be on the table if there's no purpose beyond lining investors pockets with money.

Bleat on and on about liberal politicians all you like, but why don't you focus on this issue instead of cutting off your nose to spite your face over your bitterness over progressive politicians.

Posted by: demo kid on July 4, 2008 10:28 AM

14. OK, so which one of you sports fanatics is going to lease a theater, work a deal with Bennett for super high def feed and put the new Sonics on the big screen. Now, let's see, can you serve beer in a theater? Oh, yes, it's called a sports bar.

Posted by: rawdibob on July 4, 2008 11:40 AM

15. For God's sake, if we've really got rid of them, please take Nickles along too!

Posted by: JB on July 5, 2008 04:19 AM

16. I think we should kick them rest of the sports teams out, blow up the stadiums, and see how much that improves the traffic situation.

(I'm all broken up about the Sonics leaving, obviously.)

Posted by: jvon on July 7, 2008 01:14 AM

17. Seattle is where professional sports goes to die.

The ONLY teams that brought home a championship were, ironically, the Sonics and the Storm.

The Seahawks? Forget it. They had a shot a couple of years ago. They let a few bad calls demoralize them. They will never be that good again.

The Mariners? Seattle had a baseball team? Who knew!?

What really has my curiosity piqued is why ANYONE would want to keep a pack of losers, has-beens and never-wuzzers like the Sonics, Seahawks an Mariners in town.

And hey: while we are at it, let's force the PUBLIC to finance the stadiums and arenas for what is really a bunch of single-A teams for the rest of the sports franchises. What player on earth would sincerely want to come to Seattle unless they were paid scads of money to do it?

Good riddance to a genuinely crappy franchise. Sonics fans: the Sonics were a sh*tty team with ONE championship in their entire lousy history. (Never mind the She-Hawks and the Mediocrinariners.) Sit down and have a nice, hot cup of Quitcherbitchin.

Posted by: ERNusre on July 8, 2008 10:06 AM