OPINION: Mr. Blank should pay for his new building, not us

Currently the Falcons play in the Georgia Dome which is owned by the State of Georgia. Blank pays rent to use the facility, and that is proper. Please note that the Georgia Dome is only 20 years old.

Mr. Blank is not satisfied with that arrangement. He wants his own stadium, and he is willing to put up a sizable amount of the price for a new building with a retractable roof, but not all the money. He is asking the city and state to contribute a significant amount of tax money for the project. The problem is that he would still be the owner, not the city or state. Now that is a problem. If the people’s money is used, even partly, then the people should have a share in ownership.

The supporters of the new building point out that the city would benefit from its construction and their portion of the cost will come from a hotel/motel tax. The people of Atlanta would not be directly financing the project.

Now, my problem is the idea of Mr. Blank being given public money, from any source, for a privately owned for profit commercial building. If his company is to be the owner and keep any profit minus taxes then they should pay the entire price.

I do not understand why they want a new stadium anyway. The current structure is only 20 years old and is clearly adequate for their purposes. I would guess that it is an ego thing. Other people have more impressive stadiums and Mr. Blank wants one as good as theirs. If that is his motivation, then again, let him pay for it.

One hundred and fifty years ago this nation split apart and fought the nation’s most bloody war over the question of applying a tax on one region to benefit another. It was called the Morrell Tax, and was designed to pay for infrastructure to benefit Northern businessmen at the expense of Southern farmers. And you thought it was about slavery! The pro tax side won and we the people have been subjected to even more tax and spend projects ever since.

If Mr. Blank is convinced that he can make even more money with an expensive new stadium, he should have every right to build it. The planning and zoning people should bend over backwards to clear the way for the building. But taxpayers money, from any source, should not be used. It would be Mr. Blank’s building. Let him pay for it.

Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County Journal. His e-mail address is frank@frankgillispie.com. His website can be accessed at http://www.frankgillispie.com/gillispieonline.