Jobs Bill: NFL Franchise Value

13 October 2011 |permalink | email article

Does the decision by the United States Senate kill President Obama’s jobs bill? The GOP-led House refuses to consider his proposal. But a new NBC/WSJ poll out late Wednesday suggests otherwise, finding that both the legislation’s specifics, together with the idea of taxing the wealthy to pay for it, are popular with the American public. Asked if Congress should pass the legislation or not, 30%of respondents answer yes, while 22% say no; 44 percent have no opinion.

The follow-up question is what’s compelling – that it would cut payroll taxes, fund new road construction, extend unemployment benefits, and be paid for by increasing taxes on the wealthy – shows that 63 % say they favor the bill and 32% oppose it.

Even more to the point, 62% of respondents agree with the statement that it is a “good idea” to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, because they should pay their fair share and can afford to pay more to help fund programs and government operations. Rejecting defeat Obama has vowed to break the bill into many parts, a long and arduous task made necessary by Republican intransigence.

NFL, L.A. Stadium Franchise Issue 

Until now real estate magnate Ed Roski, with a rival bid for a stadium in City of Industry, has taken a back seat to rival AEG’s plan for a stadium adjacent to Staples Center. The downtown proposal calls for billionaire Philip Anschutz to acquire a minority stake in a team at a discount price. Roski has dropped his bid to trade stadium land for a no-cash piece of a team and is now offering to pay full price for a minority share. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay told the Los Angeles Times – and several NFL owners agreed off the record – that full price is the only way to go. My take is Roski now has a better bargaining position with NFL owners than Anschutz.

What they said

“The Republican race has turned into ‘The Wizard of Oz. Rick Perry wants a brain. Mitt Romney wants a heart. And any number of candidates is Dorothy, realizing that there is no place like home and they should have stayed there. Herman Cain is seeking courage. He needs the courage to face the fact he is never going to be the Republican nominee.” – Politico’s Roger Simon

“Our Founding Fathers never meant for Washington. D.C. to be the font of all wisdom. As a matter of fact they were very much afraid of that because they just had this experience with this far-away government that had centralized though process and planning.” – Rick Perry, falsely suggesting the American Revolution was fought in the 16th century instead of the 18th century.

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