The Power of Genetics!
So during a time when consumer confidence has hit record lows, and businesses short on credit are ratcheting things down, Paulson wants Portland taxpayers to spend at least $80 million the projected cost of the two stadium projects on his business venture?
So a colleague just forwarded this to me — it would be hilarious if it wasn’t so disgusting. Apparently Merrit Paulson, the demon spawn of national hero Hank Paulson, has managed to sucker the city of Portland into giving him $80 million in taxpayer money to help him finance, of all things, a pro soccer stadium.
It’s bad enough when mega-rich jerks like Paulson steal money from taxpayers to finance their vanity sports projects; even the bailout isn’t as big a ripoff as the stadium game, which allows monsters like the Steinbrenner family to take money from firefighters and teachers to help subisidize Alex Rodriguez’s $30 million salary, his nights out on the town with Madonna and Kate Hudson. But when it’s Henry Paulson’s son and he’s taking taxpayer money to fund not football, not baseball, but professional soccer, this just flat-out crosses the line. What’s next? Public funding for a store selling French ribbed turtlenecks? Subsidy for a Belgian man-purse factory? As business ventures of idle rich offspring go, this has to rank somewhere near JFK Jr.’s plans to mass-produce hand-made kayaks.
At what point are we going to stop handing taxpayer money to people who don’t need it? Is this ever going to end?
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This sort of bullshit makes me realize that we are all doomed to grab our ankles for the rest of our lives. I’m glad that you pointed out that it’s taking money from people who really need it…is there any way we can have a Survivor-esque game show where we vote these fuckers off and send them to the Island of Dr. Moreau?
Ummm, I just googled Merritt Paulson, and his wife’s apparently already been down the reality tv show. The puzzle pieces are fitting.
In response to another comment. See in context »No, it will never end. What could have made you think it would? Must maintain the status quo…
“At what point are we going to stop handing taxpayer money to people who don’t need it? Is this ever going to end?”
This will end when we decide we no longer want to live in a nation ruled by millionaire/billionaire welfare queens!
The total amount of public money handed over to pro sports teams is, according to sources I’ve read, greater than the total amount of profits earned by those organizations! That means that the entire profit of professional sports is money taken from the people. And sports fans happily shell out hundreds of dollars to attend what is nothing short of a tent revival in both fanaticism and usefulness.
The solution is simple, ……. stop attending games and stop electing douchebags who give your money to the rich!
Matt, I know it’s a rhetorical question. But, no, it’s never going to end.
Need is determined by perspective. C’mon, Merritt Paulson *needs* that soccer stadium. Although I though Portlanders knew better.
So, in echo, it ain’t ending.
You know you need a man purse Matt.
Yeah, faggot europeans and their ribbed sweaters and manpurses.
Except here, when the UK’s #2 football (yeah whatever) club wanted to build a new stadium they not only had to pay full market price for the land and build the stadium themselves, they also had to build a load of “social housing” and pay for the renovation of local public transport facilities.
God knows that my country’s fucked up, but sometimes you can learn something from foreigners.
Pro soccer salaries and costs are far, far below those for the other US sports. It is also the most working class sport in the world.
That said, a pox on any sports franchise getting a stadium from the taxpayers. As far as economic development goes this is a boondoggle, a colossal waste of our money.
So I’m 50-50 with ya Matt.
The problem is not in the stars… or the Paulson DNA. Look in the mirror, twits! You keep going to the polls and electing the same whores over and over. Whoever approved this outrage (and it was a gaggle of elected officials) should be banished to electoral Siberia. But the electorate, heads crammed up the crusty, smelly rectum of Junk Culture, will whine a bit and then slink off to watch “Dancing w/the Stars” or read about “Jason” cheating on “Jennifer”. You’re country is doomed. You’re not going to pull out of this dive…
Just to be clear — while I do hate soccer, that’s not exactly what I’m getting at here. The point is that people have been trying to sell soccer to Americans for four decades and it hasn’t ever worked. So the idea that taxpayers should help some billionaire’s son try to jump-start a business idea that is doomed to fail — this is why this is an especially bad idea. It’s as stupid as it would be to get German taxpayers to build an American football stadium. But I wasn’t particularly clear about that, so… my bad.
The number one youth sport with a growing television viewership and increasing attendance at games. Yeah, what a terrible investment.
In response to another comment. See in context »I live in Portland about 10 blocks from the current stadium, PGE Park, which houses both triple A baseball and USL soccer. I love going to both baseball and soccer games. The venue is terrific. It’s on the main light-rail line in the heart of the city.
I’ve been miffed about the apparent need for a new stadium. The current one is fantastic–do a google image search and see for yourself. The current plan is to build a new baseball-only stadium in the outskirts of the city. I can’t imagine this being an improvement.
The whole project seems unnecessary–construction for constructions sake. The driving force is Paulson, who is exposed to minimal risk and will have plenty of opportunities to squeeze profit from the construction and relocation effort.
Sprawling to build the new stadiums is as bad an idea as having you Portland taxpayers foot the bill. They should rebuild both parks in the same neighborhood, share parking and public transit.
In response to another comment. See in context »soccer is a disaster in the pacific northwest. other than seattle, where every game is selling out 30k customers and the city is soccer mad. or vancouver, where an extremely well financed team has come together (including steve nash) has come together to launch a team in 2011 that already has generated tremendous buzz.
listen matt, if you really feel the need to pontificate, keep it on the “what the fuck you know anything about” tip. researching the portland city soccer background or the seattle team’s great success would have taken 30 seconds with this newfangled technology called “google.”
total with you on public subsidies of stadia FWIW.
You should be thanking Hero Jr. for broadening the tax base with all those pepsi-colas sold and giant foam #1 hands.
French ribbed turtlenecks? Belgian “man purses”?
[Stage whisper: ] We’ve replaced one of your new favorite journalists and bloggers with a transcription of the ranting of some know-nothing redneck in a bar containing all of the worst stereotypes about “Yurpeens” and their faggoty ways, taken down on cocktail napkins as we hid in the dark at the end of the bar on a break from our writing gig for Rolling Stone.
Let’s see if the readers notice! [ /stage whisper ]
[...] Rolling So and SO I think. Also, he is a funny, funny man. Here is a short post Taibbi wrote about Hank Paulson’s son, Merrit (WTF kind of name is THAT?), who gets to start a nice to be in [...]
Aw, no need to bash soccer. Though Germany was the only country where American football was reasonably popular, they all played in soccer stadiums. Certainly giving one cent to rich people to build a stadium is so obviously stupid it can’t be defended, yet I’m sure you’re aware that there are plenty of people who devote far too much of their lives worshiping their NFL or NBA teams (baseball? probably not) and maybe aren’t so upset when public money brings a team to their god-forsaken hellhole (Arizona Cardinals, NBA OKCity Whatevers, etc.) Makes them feel like they don’t live in a fucknutz cowtown anymore.
Giving one cent to anybody to build a stadium is stupid—rich or not. If it’s such a huge success, investors will line up to get a piece.
Wouldn’t community reinvestment acts classify as similar to this? Forcing banks and taxpayers to “invest” in risky, depressed real estate ventures for the sake of one group’s idea of “the right thing to do?”
for the record, MT, you would look awesome in french ribbed turtlenecks (especially in black).