The Piercing Truth

This is right from the dictionary and seems to describe Albuquerque, Berry and Schultz. Fascism (f ash ,izem) noun An authoritarian right wing system of government and/or social organization. (in general use) extreme right wing, authoritarian, chauvinistic and/or intolerant views or practices. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one group over another, national, ethnic, especially social strata or monetarily; a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach. Compliments of one of our Eyes

Sep 15, 2008

Publicly Financed Pigs

Monday the Albuquerque Journal editorial department cautioned all of us that once the study is complete on The Alcalde Arena - we need to take "a cold, hard look" at the study. Their reasoning was sound as there's an inherent conflict of interest when the "study" group includes those who stand to benefit financially from a publicly financed arena/hotel complex.
The developers who would build the 12,000-seat arena and an adjoining 450-room Downtown hotel are taking part in the study.
What the Journal fails to tell you is that this isn't the first time the city has formed "study" groups that include those who have a vested interest in seeing the project approved and financed with taxpayer money. Marty's Trolley to Nowhere Taskfarce is similarly packed with members whose interests lie with seeing a central street car (read about it here).

The problem is with the formation of these "study" groups and "taskforces" whose only mandate is to provide cover for politicians. The truth is that neither one of these projects are commercially viable and will require huge amounts of taxpayer money to build and even more taxpayer money to maintain and operate.

Folks, these large developments can be great money makers for the developers who build them - sometimes they can even be successful. It doesn't matter how much taxpayer money is spent on a "study" it can't change the fact that neither of these proposed Marty-World developments can make money or even support themselves. These two projects are simply pigs attempting to feed at the public trough. (We were going to say something about lipstick but... you know.)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you remember the "Civic Auditorium"? At least there was parking available. Just the same, it was eventually torn down because, at the time it could not support itself. Even if a trolley was built for the Downtown/Nob Hill areas, there is still a problem with parking. What we need to do first is accommodate the folks that drive cars. I can imagine us riding our bikes, or to "park and ride" the bus to see a show. But then, Marty and his force has a tendency to close entertainment venues anyway. In the 70's, Albuquerque had a vibrant local entertainment and music scene. The government and police in that day didn’t harass their patrons, but supported them! Everything was fine. Even now the big cities across the nation have their share of problems but they put hospitality first. Albuquerque could learn a lot from them. People even fly to their towns to be entertained.

Anonymous said...

Mayor Marty - The man who brought you the no-bid $1,000,000 airport observation deck.

Mayor Marty - The man who brought you the money sucking pit called The Balloon Museum.

Anonymous said...

I had heard once, several months ago and from someone I thought to be fairly reliable, that there might have been some conversations about putting such an arena in the Winrock area after parts of the now empty mall were torn down. It seems to me that the Uptown area would make a ton more sense, especially with the on-going I-40 reconstruction. Has anyone else heard anything along this line or,,,,am I just making this up??

Anonymous said...

Can we just fast-forward and name it the Daskalos Dome?

I love this bar!!!

Anonymous said...

hahahaha Dasakalos Dome I love it!! But aren't you talking about his bald head?? hahahaha...

Seriously, how come the lil' Almighty was a no show @ the 100th class of APD cadet graduates?

Anonymous said...

He was a no show @ the 99th as well..