You forget having the working man funding these dream stadiums with their taxes, then also charging insane amounts to attend the games, so that all those things up there can continue to happen.
this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2025
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Showerthoughts
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted, clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
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Good point!
You, a socialist: "Please, I'm begging you, sports should be a municipal amenity not a profit driven cash grab."
Me, an American Capitalist: "And then they made me pay for parking! And then I had to give Ticketmaster an extra 12% on top of the entrance price! And then half the stadium was just 20' advertisement billboards! And it's all going into the pockets of a dozen extremely rich oligarchs, most of whom don't even live here!!! JUST LIKE COMMUNIST RUSSIA!"
And then there is the massive tax breaks the stadiums are given so the is even less returning to the city's coffers.
I can't believe I paid for US Bank Stadium when I was living downtown Minneapolis. Fucking criminal.
"The problem is that we all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free enterprise capitalism for the poor. Thatβs the problem."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Yes, thank you, that's the quote I had in mind!
Professional athletes also have some of the strongest unions in the country, since theyβre a small group of practically irreplaceable workers, and many of the league structures are the result of collective bargaining between played and owners.
Good point!
It's not socialism, it's market regulation to promote fair play and prevent unstoppable juggernauts from forming.
It's literally just enlightened self interest applied to capitalism, and the very idea shatters the "minds" of MBAs the world over.
A socialist pro league would be a league owned by the players, staff, and arena workers.
Sure, I agree with that, but I didn't say they were socialist sports leagues, only that that they had "socialistic policies". Perhaps if I had written '"socialistic" concepts' it would have been a bit more clear.
This system is great and should be applied everywhere. And by everywhere I mean European football (soccer).
I think we have different definitions of βeverywhereβ.
Yeah sorry, I was thinking in terms of "sport".
Absolutely! It should also be applied to society in the US and everywhere.
USA!!! Bread and Circuses.
WITHOUT BREAD!!!
Circus subscriptions just went up again.
Parasitic owner class was able to get stupid pedons to accept the bonds under municipal name and increases taxes....
If idiots gonna accept being fleeced, why shouldn't owners of sports team exploit them for profit?
This is also true of large corporations in general, in the US. Tax breaks, loopholes, and similar everywhere -- if you're rich enough. Privatized profits, but socialized losses.
Absolutely! Those corporations also love hobbling or getting rid of any honest competition through mergers, acquisitions, regulatory capture, non-compete agreements, and endless other mechanisms.
Nothing gets you guaranteed hero worship and respect like being able to throw or kick a ball or similar in the US. The economics around it are unsurprisingly huge and complex, as everyone tries to be sure they get their piece.
Wait until you hear about how you cannot pay to watch all the NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL games in your market on a streaming service. Unless something has very recently changed, there's no method of legitimately paying where you won't still experience blackouts.
Wait until you hear about how you cannot pay to watch all the NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL games in your market on a streaming service. Unless something has very recently changed, thereβs no method of legitimately paying where you wonβt still experience blackouts.
Yikes, I hadn't even thought of that! There are some local games where the only way to watch if you live in that city is to buy a ticket to go to the stadium, right?
I can't say for sure. I think in at least some cases the blackouts are to support local cable tv, which we no longer subscribe to. I don't think there tend to be games that can be watched only in person, but it's possible I just don't know.
I don't watch sports much, but I think I've heard multiple times of certain games being played locally not being available at all on TV due to black outs. I could be wrong though.
Another hypocritical dichotomy is:
Central planning does not and cannot work as efficiently as the free market!
Meanwhile, Amazon and Walmart are literally centrally planned economic production/purchase/distribution systems for nearly every kind of good imaginable, which both benefit massively from government subsidies, but they don't count because... they're corporations, and they don't have perfect monopolies.
... Even though in almost every example given of a 'centrally planned economy', the state also did not have a perfect monopoly.
You should check out the military. It's downright communism with a thick coat of red/white/blue paint.
That's a lot more understandable and less controversial though. I don't think you could properly operate a military force without having a level playing field for everyone.
Come to think about it, it's almost like no complex system involving humans is bound to work well without having a level playing field for everyone. π€