Those at the top should stay at the top. Anyone else will not be able reach the top. The Romney/Ryan ticket wants to lift the drawbridge on the rest of America. Let's have another round of tax cuts to further separate the social classes. Cut Medicaid. Who needs health care? That's just something for the wealthy. Repeal Obamacare. Raise the minimum age for Medicare. Cut food stamps. The poor don't need to eat. Why don't we put a freeze on Government wages until 2016? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/24/paul-ryan-poverty-speech_n_2010827.html
These afore-mentioned topics are all addressed in Paul Ryan's proposed budget. What a winning plan. It's a win/lose. The rich win and everyone else loses. Never has a GOP ticket been so brazen about screwing over so many Americans and suggested that doing so was a path to prosperity. I normally stay out of politics, but this campaign has awoken the "give-a-shit" in me.
Upward mobility will go away very soon in America. Other countries provide better opportunities to achieve the "American Dream." Poverty will worsen as a result of the R/R budget. 40 million people will be frozen out of health insurance from the Medicaid reductions. The food stamp program would reduce by $183 billion. Turning a blind eye to the poor will not make the problems they face go away. The destitute will become even more desperate with dwindling resources and many will turn to crime. Locking up the poor will cost more than feeding them.
As bad as R & R will be for America, the real source of bad policy is congress. The the radical right-wing has control of the House of Representatives and the Democrats hold a slight majority in the Senate. The Senate Minority is able to block bills from even seeing the light of day by the threat of a filibuster. Very little gets done under the current elected officials. Bipartisanship is a dirty word. The right does not believe in compromise.
The drawbridge needs to stay down for the rest of America. The rules must not tilt in favor of so few. A rising tide lifts all boats. The more Americans who succeed the better. Let us not hoard our pieces of the pie.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
The 1% Cares About the 1%. Period
It seems that the 1%, AKA the extremely wealthy members of society, is informing its employees that they should vote for Mitt Romney or else. Or else what, the Koch brothers will fire a bunch of people they would fire anyway? Let's face it, the political system has been leaning hard right for too long. It is in need of re calibration. http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkrss.php?f=Koch-Brothers-Rounding-Up-in-Common-Dreams-121014-503.html
Only the 1% sees something like the Bush tax cuts as some noble thing. The tax cuts were made from 2001-2003 and created a huge budget deficit from the beginning of W's putrid reign. When tax revenue is removed from the budget without being balanced, the country accrues major debt...about $3 trillion. Conservatives have abandoned the balanced budget approach in favor of "Starve the Beast". This concept attempts to run up a huge deficit so that government entitlement programs will be cut to make up the gap.
Romney wants to cut taxes even more and does not have a sound way of paying for the cuts. Pretty much, the national debt will get even bigger than it is now. Pretty soon medicare will need to be slashed to make up the gap. Maybe the EPA can be trimmed. Regulation is bad because it costs the 1% profit due to government red tape. The 1% does not need to be policed. They are ABOVE the law. The banking industry does not need regulation, either. If there seems to be a discrepancy or hypothetically, a market crash, they can just take money out of petty cash. You know, petty cash, money from the rest of the population in the form of a bailout.
I have no idea why so many people identify themselves as republicans. The party has a pro business motto that really only applies to the owners and senior staff. Major companies don't care about anything but their profits. How many jobs have left cheaper pastures? Many folks in the south switched parties after President Johnson and congress passed the equal rights amendment. Maybe race matters quite a bit. The conservative religious community also makes up a good portion. If someone is not that religious or racist, what is in it for them? Especially if they are not in the 1%.
Businesses lobby congress to cut any type of regulation and any tax. Apparently they prefer the Wild West approach to Mayberry. They rely on Mayberry to vote with them even though their greed led to the housing bubble and financial crisis that forced many Mayberry Main Street folks out of their homes. Very little bailout money went to the victims while those responsible are making record profits. Why vote with this group if it only erodes the quality of life for the 99% each and every November?
Our voice and our vote matters.
Only the 1% sees something like the Bush tax cuts as some noble thing. The tax cuts were made from 2001-2003 and created a huge budget deficit from the beginning of W's putrid reign. When tax revenue is removed from the budget without being balanced, the country accrues major debt...about $3 trillion. Conservatives have abandoned the balanced budget approach in favor of "Starve the Beast". This concept attempts to run up a huge deficit so that government entitlement programs will be cut to make up the gap.
Romney wants to cut taxes even more and does not have a sound way of paying for the cuts. Pretty much, the national debt will get even bigger than it is now. Pretty soon medicare will need to be slashed to make up the gap. Maybe the EPA can be trimmed. Regulation is bad because it costs the 1% profit due to government red tape. The 1% does not need to be policed. They are ABOVE the law. The banking industry does not need regulation, either. If there seems to be a discrepancy or hypothetically, a market crash, they can just take money out of petty cash. You know, petty cash, money from the rest of the population in the form of a bailout.
I have no idea why so many people identify themselves as republicans. The party has a pro business motto that really only applies to the owners and senior staff. Major companies don't care about anything but their profits. How many jobs have left cheaper pastures? Many folks in the south switched parties after President Johnson and congress passed the equal rights amendment. Maybe race matters quite a bit. The conservative religious community also makes up a good portion. If someone is not that religious or racist, what is in it for them? Especially if they are not in the 1%.
Businesses lobby congress to cut any type of regulation and any tax. Apparently they prefer the Wild West approach to Mayberry. They rely on Mayberry to vote with them even though their greed led to the housing bubble and financial crisis that forced many Mayberry Main Street folks out of their homes. Very little bailout money went to the victims while those responsible are making record profits. Why vote with this group if it only erodes the quality of life for the 99% each and every November?
Our voice and our vote matters.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Open Letter to a Baltimore Sun Columnist
It is one of the ironies of life that the same nice old man could spend his golden years being villified in one provincial medium-sized metropolis and lionized in another, but Art Modell didn't have much time for irony.
Modell died Thursday at the age of 87, no doubt still saddened that the city of Cleveland never forgave him for moving his football team to Baltimore, but never one to spend much time looking back. His unspoken motto was "Forward" long before it was the catchword for one of the current presidential campaigns, and football fans — even those who still curse his name on the shores of Lake Erie — owe him greatly for the important role he played in the phenomenal growth and success of the National Football League.
~Peter Schmuck, Baltimore Sun
Art Modell should go into the hall of fame one day, but only as a contributor and NOT as an owner. He is responsible for the creation of two expansion teams (Cincinnati and Cleveland and I think the AFC North should be renamed the AFC Modell) and numerous new stadiums around the league. He single-handedly negotiated the landmark TV deals and was the one who came up with the idea to share money equally among the teams.
When it came to owning a team, Art was dreadful. He inherited a championship caliber team that was run by Paul Brown and found a way to force him out in 2 years. He inspired Paul Brown to form his own team, which he did. He won an NFL championship with Paul Brown's players and lead assistant. He traded Paul Warfield for Ernie Davis, even though Jim Brown was still around. Unfortunately Davis never saw the field. Art was instrumental in hastening Jim Brown's retirement at age 30. Art also traded another future HOF player, Bobby Mitchell, for Mike Phipps.
Cleveland Municipal Stadium had a capacity of around 80,000 and routinely filled it while Modell was around. The parking money was his as well. Along with all the TV money that he helped bring in, how did the amazing team owner find a way to squander all of it? I think that Mr. Modell is given credit for many things as a member of the league, but hall of fame owner is not one of them. He took advantage of the unique situation created when the Irsay's skipped town and all of the money that was amassing to find a replacement team and kept other teams from moving to Baltimore (the Rams) so he could bail himself out of a financial mess that he created.
I would think that the Baltimore market would be able to relate better to the situation, especially since the Irsay's did the same thing. I don't know how Bob Irsay's death was reporting in Baltimore, but I'm sure you'll claim to take the moral high ground. I wish the Modell family well and I respect the fact that he brought great things to the league from the perch of team owner. He just could not help himself in his role as owner as it relates to the running of his own team. Just to be clear, he should be in the hall of fame for his contributions to the league. Period.
Regards.
A Clevelander
Saturday, September 08, 2012
Art Modell is Dead
Cleveland has been in mourning for 16 years when football died in this town. The accused, Art Modell, has now died as well. He may not have been guilty of any crime per se, just one against humanity. He took something great and legendary and drove it out of town in financial ruins. Modell took over the Cleveland Browns at their apex, and made numerous blunders, financial and football related.
Art was just a man, but one who could not recognize that he was in over his head. Art and a few partners purchased the Browns in 1961 for around $4,000,000 even though he only had about $20,000 to his name. He had no other income than the team itself. He had no other business experience.
I am not privy to the specific financial situation of the team for the 34 years that Art owned the team in Cleveland, but I do know that Cleveland Municipal Stadium could hold about 80,000 people. The place was usually near capacity which is saying something. The TV revenue for NFL games are divided equally among the teams (Modell helped negotiate the deals) and it is a substantial amount. Art used to work in advertising prior to buying the team so I expect that he was able to sell plenty of ad space in the stadium.
I just wonder how Modell found a way to royally screw up the ownership of the team in a league that has so many built in financial advantages. The money part should be the easier part of the business compared to the product on the field. Yet, Modell inherited an exemplary team constructed by legendary coach Paul Brown and fouled it up.
Paul Brown was fired two years after Art took over. Jim Brown, the greatest player in league history, decided to retire because Art wanted him in training camp on time. Jim Brown was in Europe filming the Dirty Dozen and after filming was pushed back due to weather and other issues, he decided to retire. The greatest player in league and team history retired, because Art gave him an ultimatum.
Art's Worst Decisions
Art was just a man, but one who could not recognize that he was in over his head. Art and a few partners purchased the Browns in 1961 for around $4,000,000 even though he only had about $20,000 to his name. He had no other income than the team itself. He had no other business experience.
I am not privy to the specific financial situation of the team for the 34 years that Art owned the team in Cleveland, but I do know that Cleveland Municipal Stadium could hold about 80,000 people. The place was usually near capacity which is saying something. The TV revenue for NFL games are divided equally among the teams (Modell helped negotiate the deals) and it is a substantial amount. Art used to work in advertising prior to buying the team so I expect that he was able to sell plenty of ad space in the stadium.
I just wonder how Modell found a way to royally screw up the ownership of the team in a league that has so many built in financial advantages. The money part should be the easier part of the business compared to the product on the field. Yet, Modell inherited an exemplary team constructed by legendary coach Paul Brown and fouled it up.
Paul Brown was fired two years after Art took over. Jim Brown, the greatest player in league history, decided to retire because Art wanted him in training camp on time. Jim Brown was in Europe filming the Dirty Dozen and after filming was pushed back due to weather and other issues, he decided to retire. The greatest player in league and team history retired, because Art gave him an ultimatum.
Art's Worst Decisions
- Moving the team to Baltimore
- Firing Paul Brown
- Trading Paul Warfield, future HOF WR, for a draft pick used to select QB Mike Phipps. Phipps was a major bust, while Warfield has a bust of himself in the Hall of Fame.
- Trading Bobby Mitchell, future HOF RB/WR for a draft pick used to select RB Ernie Davis. Davis never played a down as he tragically passed away from leukemia. Note: Davis would have been a back up on the team due to the presence of Jim Brown who would have been the starter on any team he played for.
- Signing Andre Rison is a free agent in 1995 even though Modell did not have any money to sign him and needed to take a loan out from a local bank for $5,000,000 to cover the signing.
I am sad that I feel like I need to point everything he did wrong. He was involved with numerous charities and with the community. I only see where he ruined such a good team and took it away. I honestly feel like he was the worst owner in NFL history. I never met the man and do not want to have hatred for him any longer.
I just want to point out the facts as I see them. I want his record to show that he was incompetent as an NFL owner, he wracked up a mountain of debt, and yet he was able to keep owning the team and move it to Baltimore and have the new city clean up his mess. It is sad that I have had to care about all of this. It's just a team.
Rest in peace, Art Modell. It is not me who should judge the deeds of your life. My words are more for my benefit than anyone else right now. I am getting all of this off of my chest because I do not want to carry it around anymore. Quoth the Raven, Nevermore.
Monday, August 20, 2012
The Sporting Public
I do not like what the ranks of professional sports have become. As a child, I was drawn toward the excitement that watching sports would bring. I lived and mostly died with the Cavs, Indians, and Browns growing up. My past is linked to what those teams did at different points in my life.
As I have entered fatherhood, I have begun to see things differently. Now I am more concerned with who owns the teams and how they made their money. I wonder how sports owners are able to extort one-sided deals with the cities the claim to represent. The general public is forced to finance the stadium and own the stadium, but lease it out to the owner for very little. As an example, the city of Cleveland owns Cleveland Browns Stadium, but is only permitted to use to on select days of the year. I wonder how the communities involved keep getting snookered into building these extravagant stadiums that are used just a few times a year.
Education in Ohio is so incredibly underfunded, but all the stadiums are first rate. Why can't Ohioans have a first rate education instead. If more of us did, I can tell you one thing, the sporting public would not be gullible enough to pay for a stadium that so few actually use. Imagine if just a portion of the "sin-tax" monies were put toward the development of the lakefront. Lake Erie is the real asset that needs our support and not a sports franchise. We give these teams all the love we can, but it is not reciprocal.
I am 32 years old and have spent an ungodly amount of time devoted to reading about and watching all sports. It is quite the diversion from ordinary life. To watch sports is to escape into another world; one that lives or dies by a made basket, a touchdown, or crossing home plate. When reality sets in again, one is no further along than before the game began. It is just a respite until life awakens.
Taking stock of my life now, I do not know what role watching sports will play the rest of the way. I do not know any of the players. I sure don't know the owner. I cannot relate to them and will never share a beverage with any of them. I guess they represent the city of Cleveland, just not as much as they represent themselves.
It is a new day and my aim is to fill it with new and exciting experiences. Watching the professionals does not hold the same spot in my heart that it seemed to for years. Everything about pro sports is bigger and supposedly better. The players are rich beyond anything that a fan could imagine and are so because fans pay the exorbitant ticket, concession, and parking premiums. The TV money is just as important as well.
It seems the sporting public has spent so much time and money trying to escape reality that life has started to pass them by. Cable and satellite TV have exploded thanks to sports packages and Sunday NFL ticket. Cable bills have jumped incredibly since it all began 30 some years ago.
My hope for the future is that the next generation of fans can learn to moderate their level of fanaticism. Why love a team that cannot possibly love you back? What reward is there for undying love for a cause that is really a money trap for a wealthy billionaire? Maybe your team performs well enough to keep you tuning in. God forbid the team wins a championship. There current sports landscape only allows for a short list of teams in each sport to ever have a shot.
I will find something better to do with my time than watch millionaires face off against each other, while billionaires laugh it up after another good take from the turnstiles. Maybe I can sit out and watch Lake Erie in all its glory. I will not be able to enjoy the lake in downtown from anywhere near it because so little has been invested in it compared to the sports franchises. All I can hope for is clarity for the all fine hard working fans of Cleveland sports. What is really in the best interest of the sporting and general public? A successful sports team or a solid school system?
Friday, June 22, 2012
Lebron James, NBA Champion, and Forgiven
Dear Lebron,
On behalf of the city of Cleveland, I want to say that you are absolved of your sins of embarrassing us with the Decision. We are an easy target. Cleveland works well as a punch-line in a joke. You thought it would be great exposure for yourself to announce your future plans on national TV and have the world fawn over your every word. The thing is, though, you did not look very comfortably on stage. Normally you look like a natural. I'm guessing that someone put you up to the whole thing. Maybe a close confidante (Maverick Carter) and a disgraced reporter (Jim Gray).
The choice of Miami hurt to hear come out of your mouth. You know what though, it paid off for you. You won your first championship. The New York, Chicago, and L.A. audiences also did not like the choice you made, either, but it was your decision. The northeast Ohio perspective was "you were born here, raised here, and plays here". Now the tense is changed to "played". We have felt played, but it's time to move on.
Go play your game wherever you want. It's your life and your prerogative. This is a catharsis moment for the city, LBJ. It's about moving forward. Cleveland seems to get stuck in the past at times. The past is the past, not the present and future.
Good luck in your endeavors. You seem like a decent person. You hold every record in Cavaliers history. You will have your number retired at some point here.
Sincerely,
Clevelanders
On behalf of the city of Cleveland, I want to say that you are absolved of your sins of embarrassing us with the Decision. We are an easy target. Cleveland works well as a punch-line in a joke. You thought it would be great exposure for yourself to announce your future plans on national TV and have the world fawn over your every word. The thing is, though, you did not look very comfortably on stage. Normally you look like a natural. I'm guessing that someone put you up to the whole thing. Maybe a close confidante (Maverick Carter) and a disgraced reporter (Jim Gray).
The choice of Miami hurt to hear come out of your mouth. You know what though, it paid off for you. You won your first championship. The New York, Chicago, and L.A. audiences also did not like the choice you made, either, but it was your decision. The northeast Ohio perspective was "you were born here, raised here, and plays here". Now the tense is changed to "played". We have felt played, but it's time to move on.
Go play your game wherever you want. It's your life and your prerogative. This is a catharsis moment for the city, LBJ. It's about moving forward. Cleveland seems to get stuck in the past at times. The past is the past, not the present and future.
Good luck in your endeavors. You seem like a decent person. You hold every record in Cavaliers history. You will have your number retired at some point here.
Sincerely,
Clevelanders
Friday, October 14, 2011
The Cleveland Sports Scene as Seen By ATD.
Cleveland and Detroit...Baseball
It's October, which means playoff baseball, and it again does not include your Cleveland Indians. Nope. It was a flash in the pan season, a season that saw the Tribe in first place with a 6 game lead and ended with the team in second buried by the surging Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are still alive, scratching and clawing for a spot in the World Series. The Tigers also spent twice as much on payroll.
The Tigers are a great example of what happens when management spends money on their team. The Tigers were the laughingstock of baseball in the 1990's, while the Indians were the kings of the AL Central. Then something happened that spurred Detroit to spend...the NHL went on strike and the team owner (Mike Ilitch) who also owns the Red Wings (NHL hockey power) had money to spend on the Tigers. Low and behold, they put a good team on the field, and people started to support the team again.
Cleveland Indians management has a different theory involving a chicken and the egg. They believe "if you come, we will build it." It must explain why the attendance has been among the lowest in baseball. You get what you pay for, I guess. It is hard to grasp running a business where management sells Grade F steak for Grade A price. If enough people buy the inferior steak, the owner will upgrade the meat. If the Indians were a restaurant, they wouldn't last a week.
From 1993 to 2002, the Indians drew around $2 to 3.4 million fans a year. The team was not competitive in 1993, but it was the last season in Cleveland Municipal Stadium and nostalgia jacked that number up there. So from 1994 to 2002, the attendance numbers were unprecedented. The economy and sports climate in the city were an additional aberration. My point though, is that ownership increased the payroll and continued to for about a decade. The ballpark did not sell out the first year of Jacobs Field, but did so the next 5 seasons. Every game!
Cleveland and Detroit...Baseball
It's October, which means playoff baseball, and it again does not include your Cleveland Indians. Nope. It was a flash in the pan season, a season that saw the Tribe in first place with a 6 game lead and ended with the team in second buried by the surging Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are still alive, scratching and clawing for a spot in the World Series. The Tigers also spent twice as much on payroll.
The Tigers are a great example of what happens when management spends money on their team. The Tigers were the laughingstock of baseball in the 1990's, while the Indians were the kings of the AL Central. Then something happened that spurred Detroit to spend...the NHL went on strike and the team owner (Mike Ilitch) who also owns the Red Wings (NHL hockey power) had money to spend on the Tigers. Low and behold, they put a good team on the field, and people started to support the team again.
Cleveland Indians management has a different theory involving a chicken and the egg. They believe "if you come, we will build it." It must explain why the attendance has been among the lowest in baseball. You get what you pay for, I guess. It is hard to grasp running a business where management sells Grade F steak for Grade A price. If enough people buy the inferior steak, the owner will upgrade the meat. If the Indians were a restaurant, they wouldn't last a week.
From 1993 to 2002, the Indians drew around $2 to 3.4 million fans a year. The team was not competitive in 1993, but it was the last season in Cleveland Municipal Stadium and nostalgia jacked that number up there. So from 1994 to 2002, the attendance numbers were unprecedented. The economy and sports climate in the city were an additional aberration. My point though, is that ownership increased the payroll and continued to for about a decade. The ballpark did not sell out the first year of Jacobs Field, but did so the next 5 seasons. Every game!
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