No doubt Sonics officials and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels’ office are feverishly attempting to work out a deal on renovating Key Arena before Initiative 91 passes in a landslide this November. Yesterday, sponsors dropped off over 20,000 signatures for I-91, which would prohibit public subsidies of sports arenas, and a recent poll showed overwhelming support. This puts a pretty big kink in the Sonics’ demand that taxpayers fork over $200 million to keep the team in Seattle.
Ah well, that’s what Sonics management gets for arrogantly overplaying its hand.
Personally, I could care less whether the Sonics stay or leave, but I’ve got nothing against loyal fans who want to keep the team in Seattle if a reasonable deal can be achieved. In that spirit I proposed a somewhat tongue-in-cheek financing scheme a little while back… a Latte Tax that would place the tax burden squarely on the shoulders of those who would benefit most from a $200 million public subsidy: Sonics majority owner and Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz.
Yes, what better way to finance a new arena whose primary purpose is to make a very rich man even richer, than to tax the business that made him so awfully damn rich in the first place? And what could be more delicious than a Marble Mocha Macchiato, than the spectacle of Schultz’s Sonics spending millions of Schultz’s dollars to convince voters to levy a tax on Schultz’s ubiquitous Starbucks?
Not surprisingly, my Latte Tax proposal didn’t get much traction with either local politicians or team officials.
But should the Mayor and the team work out a reasonable deal in which the Sonics pay their fair share, I do have another tax proposal that I hope our state and local elected officials seriously consider: a Jock Tax.
Currently, twenty other states already levy a tax on the income visiting players earn during their “duty days” within the state. Our Sonics players already pay this tax on most of their away games, so it’s only fair that visiting players pay a similar tax when they play games here.
It is also only fair to devote these revenues towards paying for public arenas and stadiums, considering that rapidly escalating player salaries is the primary economic motive behind the demand for ever greater public subsidy. If taxpayers are going to be asked to pay for a new arena, lets make sure the burden falls on those who will benefit most from the tax.
Now I know what some of you are thinking: the Washington State Supreme Court has already ruled a state income tax unconstitutional. But that’s all the more reason to pass a Jock Tax now.
Many constitutional scholars and tax experts, including such notables as William Gates Sr. and UW law professor Hugh Spitzer, believe that the court’s antiquated 1933 decision likely would not hold up today… and what better way to test this precedent than with a relatively inconsequential tax like this?
Thus a Jock Tax is a win-win proposal — it is a fair and reasonable tax that targets those who benefit most from the policy, while bringing new tax revenues into the state. And as a bonus, it finally puts to rest a constitutional red herring that has clouded our tax structure debate for decades.
Under a reasonable deal, the Sonics owners would be asked to pay their fair share towards a new arena, and with a Jock Tax in place, so would the league’s players. As for the public, well, if you ask me, outrageously high ticket and concession prices are already burden enough for even the most diehard fan.
Sell stock in the team. When (if) people buy the stock, captital is raised, then they can built the cathedrals to the overpaid spoiled athletes.
I-91 doesn’t actually prohibit public subsidy, just a subsidy that doesn’t yield a net profit for the City of Seattle.
We could still give the Sonics 200 million dollars, but we’d have to somehow make a profit on it. Which we can’t.
If most of the basketball players are black, isn’t it racist not to pay more taxes?
What if the basketball players vote Democrat? Shouldn’t taxes br raised?
Fuck taxes. Just tell them to pack their shit and get the fuck out of town. Who the hell cares?
Plus we wooden hafta listen to no mo’ player interviews onna radio ya know wut I’m sayin’…
Bellevue or Renton would be fine places to go watch the Sonics.
No to the latte tax, yes to the jock tax underwritten by the sonics.
But what if the Democrat voting players speak ebonics? Is it racist not the raise taxes until all the businesses just move out of state?
Considering we are already taxing tourists to support the Mariners and Seahawks in the guise of a “motel and rental car” tax, it makes sense to me.
Since basketball players make millions, shouldn’t they be taxed at 95% of ALL their income “for the chilin”? Anything less would be racist!
Whatever happened to “free enterprise” and the “free market”? You know — if a business can’t pay its own way, it folds. Why do taxpayers have to be involved in providing a PRIVATE BUSINESS with its place of doing business?
12
Hey you fucking FREELOADER if you want to advertise your crap on this blog BUY ADVERTISING SPACE asshole.
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001078.php
Looks like the world’s biggest crack addict and transvestite has never written an original word in her miserable cowardly life. This is the kind of hero that the righties seem to really like. Hope thier kids grow up to be just like her!
Looks like the so-called Christian Coalition’s Ralph Reed isn’t so Christian after all. http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001077.php
This bitch is going down with the rest of the republican crooks!
If Howie and Wally think their team will do any better as the Renton Sonics or the Moses Lake Sonics or the Pocatello Sonics….go ahead. More power to ’em. No doubt they can fail to fill the seats in some crystal palace anywhere else just as well as they can fail to fill them here.
So who the fuck voted to give taxpayer dollars to one of the world’s wealthiest men so he could make $600M holding gain on the Seahawks?
Only you idiot fucking moonbats in Seattle. ‘Cause it was a fucking “emergency”.
COULTER IN PLAGIARISM HOT WATER
Universal Press Syndicate, which syndicates Ann Coulter’s column to over 100 newspapers, says it plans to investigate plagiarism accusations against Coulter.
John Barrie, creator of a plagiarism detection software program, says he found at least three plagiarized passages in Coulter’s latest book, and several “verbatim lifts” in her columns.
Barrie also described dozens of footnotes in Coulter’s new book as “misleading.”
Sources: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/
http://www.nypost.com/news/
Other states impose their state income tax on all visitors/workers who earn income in their state. To impose an income tax only on visiting athletes seems rather unfair to me.
It is past time for a 65 cent tax on each and every coffee drink sold in this state. Why should the cigarette smokers and the alcohol drinkers be the only sinners paying extra taxes? That’s bullshit. Caffeine is very bad for you and I want some tax relief, so drink up and pay up!
Mac – Shit, the caffeine is nothing. The fat and sugar are poison. A starbucks drink should be called “heart attack in a cup.”
Starbucks coffee tastes nasty. Seattle’s Best is best!
22……Sorry, Kona puts your Seattle’s Best to shame.
sgmmac at 20: “Other states impose their state income tax on all visitors/workers who earn income in their state. To impose an income tax only on visiting athletes seems rather unfair to me.”
I agree. I thought it was a stupid idea when I first heard it was being adopted in other states.
But if everybody else is doing it, then it evens out, as everbody presumably has just about as many home games as visiting games. The end result is a tax on professional athletic salaries, you just tax them twice as much for only half the games. Same difference as if you taxed them all half as much for all the games. Only the high payroll teams would pay more (gee, you think the NY Yankees would mind?).
If we are the only state with a professional team which is NOT doing it, we would be rather stupid not to join the game. Otherwise its like a fencing contest, but only one contestant has a sword, the other one refusing it on moral grounds.
#18: “So who the fuck voted to give taxpayer dollars to one of the world’s wealthiest men…”
Not me, sweetie.
Agreed regarging taste in coffee. The wife and I went to the Big Island last year for our thritieth anniversary, and there ain’t no comparison. Trouble is, nowadays the folks over there pretty much keep the good stuff to themselves instead of sending it here.
Here’s the mayor’s office’s official response to I91:
“This measure is a gimmick, and it is no way to manage a valuable public asset.”
To which my response would be something like “Better than having you do it, MoFo!”
Same goes for the market in pot, Art. Damn those stingy assholes!
@23
Now, I wasn’t talking about Hawaii……. My Dad has a house on Maui and it is really hard to beat Kona coffee, but then it’s also hard to beat Maui potato chips, chocolate dobash cake, and just about every other product that they sell on the islands…….
rhp6033,
Those states that do tax Washington’s athletes, tax all of their own residents, so the tax is equitable and fair. Then they tax anyone who comes into their state and earns income in their state. They are taxing the income, not the athletes.
I’m a Yankee fan!
sgmmac, Kona coffee for you. None for Roger Rabbit. hehe, JCH Kennedy
RHP @22,
The difference is that most states have a personal income tax, so their players get to deduct from their state income tax the amount they pay other states… so it really does even out in most states.
But since there’s no income tax in WA, our players can’t deduct what they are paying elsewhere; thus the current situation results in a net export of player income.
David
30, But paying more taxes is good. [Karl Marx and Hillary Clinton]
19
Mark — if you can guarantee that a cup of Starbucks will give you a heart attack, I’ll buy you one.
29
What makes you think the Rabbit Army — 10 trillion strong and growing by a million a day — can’t TAKE anything we want?
30
But Goldy, if they’re on the road half the time, they pay only half as much sales tax.
As we know, the heart and soul of the American economy is the small businesses. Obviously, this latte tax proposal is satire, but if it were serious, it would be the quickest way to put small, independent cafes and coffee carts out of business.
I, for one, will be perfectly happy to see the team vacate to Renton…especially since it would have to change its name from the Seattle SuperSonics to the Renton SuperSonics. Good luck filling skyboxes with that one…
22……Sorry, Kona puts your Seattle’s Best to shame.
Commentby REP Pat Kennedy [D-Bitchslap the Black Security Guard At LAX]— 7/7/06@ 5:21 pm
I agree. Send some to Everett! Pud. D. Bud
32 – Thanks Rabbit. Here’s hoping you have a recurrence. Still spending one third of your taxpayer paid early retirement on medical?
Satire, my ass, I am serious about a latte tax. Why should smokers and drinkers be the only ones paying a cool billion in taxes for their sin? I want the latte drinkers to step up to the plate and start paying their fair share of “sin taxes.”
38, agreed. Democrat libs at the “coffee corners” need to pay lots of taxes. I can see Goldy, GBS, and Roger Rabbit at the local Starbuck’s sipping lattes and wasting hours bitching about Bush and life in general.
33, Nope. Not a drop for you. You couldn’t afford Kona coffee anyway. Stick to the cheap South American socialist coffee.
“A King County man was sentenced Thursday to spend 50 hours wearing a sandwich board with the words, “I am a liar. I am not a Army veteran. I have never served my country.” Chief U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Seattle also sentenced Roger Rabbit to four months of house arrest for making a false statement. Rabbit, 56, was convicted of making a false statement — a felony.”
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A 9-year-old gave birth to a baby girl in the western Amazon jungle, a pregnancy that authorities say may have been the result of rape, the National Indian Bureau said Friday.
The girl was found in the jungle in April by laborers working on a natural gas pipeline from the Coari oil fields to Manaus, a city of 1.5 million people 1,800 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro, said the bureau, known as Funai. [………….Note: Wasn’t GBS in South America 9 months ago? Why, yes, and he was visiting Brazil!!]
Wingers don’t know shit about coffee, either.
PUBLIC NOTICE
In the previous thread, Mark the Redneck posted bullshit about Bush economic policies, and Roger Rabbit has posted a reply in that thread.
How it’s time for Roger Rabbit to hop up the hill to see if Stefan is watering his vegetable garden! YUMMY!!! Later …
… oh, one thing before I leave … Stefan, why didn’t you share the proceeds of your lawsuit against King County with the generous donors to your “legal action fund” who helped you pay for the lawsuit?
For your convenience, you may reply by marking one of the boxes below:
[ ] 1. Because Stefan is a selfish prick
[ ] 2. Because Stefan can’t hold a job and needs the money
[ ] 3. Because Stefan didn’t get a talk radio gig like Goldy did
[ ] 4. Because all his Republican “supporters” are cheapskate windbags who talk a big game but none of them actually contributed to his “legal action fund”
[ ] 5. Because Stefan’s claims are meritless and he hasn’t won a single dime from King County in court
[ ] 6. All of the above.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13760487/
Looks like we have more evidence that Bush/Cheney are crooks!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13760487/
Looks like we have more evidence that Bush/Cheney are crooks!
Left Turn
You are again jumping the gun..All folks are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The article you cite is not evidence of any wrong doing. It only shows that Abramoff was prominent in the politics of Washington DC. When is the trial?
I don’t have a single brain cell in my head. And I don’t know why!
Rufus Poopypants
Has anyone ever heard the Cheech & Chong bit called: “Basketball Jones”? It’s a laff-riot!!!!!!!!!!!!!
re 49: Che Gueverra was never tried for anything. I guess that means he’s innocent…
41
“A King County man was sentenced Thursday to spend 50 hours wearing a sandwich board with the words, ‘I am a liar. I am not a Army veteran. I have never served my country.’ Chief U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Seattle also sentenced Roger Rabbit to four months of house arrest for making a false statement. Rabbit, 56, was convicted of making a false statement — a felony.’ Commentby REP Pat Kennedy [D-Bitchslap the Black Security Guard At LAX]— 7/7/06@ 9:25 pm
Trying your hand at fiction writing, Craig? How’s that working for you? Got enough rejection slips to wallpaper your shack yet? (http://www.iedonline.net/house_stilts.jpg )
JCH — don’t forget to repost this one:
“Infamous Enumclaw horse sex case to be made into movie. … Seattle filmmaker Robinson Devor has begun filming this month for his new documentary, ‘In the Forest There Is Every Kind of Bird.’ The film examines the widely reported 2005 incident of a man in Enumclaw … who died after having sex with a horse.” Commentby REP Pat Kennedy [D-Bitchslap the Black Security Guard At LAX]— 7/7/06@ 9:45 am
So I can repost my reply:
I just received word that Devor has signed JCH to play the horse. Commentby Roger Rabbit— 7/7/06@ 11:31 am
49
“You are again jumping the gun..All folks are presumed innocent until proven guilty.” Commentby sillyguy— 7/7/06@ 11:13 pm
Since when? A little thing like due process hasn’t kept Republicans from imprisoning and torturing people! Don’t you think it’s just a little bit embarrassing that the Bushies have released dozens of people from Gitmo without bringing them before tribunals?
Oh, and by the way, “sillyguy” how’s your constitutional amendment coming along? You know, your suggestion to require revotes of disputed elections — has Karl Rove put a contract out on you yet? For photo of sillyguy’s idea, click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.....hopter.JPG
A latte tax? Waittaminute…who sells the most lattes? Seems to make more sense to keep the gubmint out of the whole thing and let Schultz pay for his own fucking arena.
PLENTY OF RICH FOLK ON THE EAST SIDE CONSIDER INVESTING IN THE SONICS AND ENCOURAGE THE TEAM AND THE OWNER TO MOVE TO BELLEVUE.
ANY EASTSIDE RICHIES WANT A TAX WRITE-OFF FOR A SUCKIE SEATTLE BASKETBALL TEAM?
SIDES IF THE SONICS MOVED :) OUT OF SEATTLE IT WOULD LESSEN THE TRAFFIC JAMS ALONG MERCER WAY THAT ALWAYS OCCUR AFTER GAMES :)))
55
What are the rule of war? How long were persons on both sides imprisoned during WWII? Your rabbit brain is too small to understand the concept of war.
SILLY GUY: #59 WHAT ARE THE RULES OF WAR?
FIRST RULE
1. DO NOT START A WAR AND INVADE A COUNTRY THAT DID NOT ATTACK YOUR COUNTRY
2. DO NOT INVADE A COUNTRY THAT DOES NOT HAVE WMD
DO YOU INVADE A COUNTRY THAT DOES NOT POSSESS WMD?
UNDER BUSH RULES: INVADE A COUNTRY THAT DID NOT ATTACK YOUR COUNTRY. INVADE A COUNTRY THAT DOES NOT HAVE WMD
60
Rules of War:
When attacked by an enemy return the blow. The return should be way more than what was delevered.
The War was started when we had 9/11
The enemy is not terrorism but the extremist muslims. The extremists muslim point of view has not changed in 1000 years.
Irag is in the middle of the Muslim world.
Convert Iraq to a democracy and we have a toe-hold to convert the rest of the mid-east and potentially stop or put a stop on the extremist muslims.
You apparently do not understand the seriousness of this war nor the apparent outcome that you and your future family will be subject to Sha’ri law.
The choice is yours – vote for who you think will protect your family from Sha’ri law. If you vote incorrectly, the world be be muslim.
56
You are still delusional about having a orithopter fan in your front yard. Please go out and buy one and let the rest of world know how stupid you are trying to assume you are rabbit.
Some of your posts are quite informational but when denigerate yourself to posting utter nonsense in the majority of your posts then the only person you hurt is yourself.
#49…”You are again jumping the gun..All folks are presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
Hey, Sillyguy…tell that to the poor sots in Gitmo.
ArtFart
They are prisoners of war – when the war is over they get released. Obviously you do not know reality!
re 61: Iraq was a country of secular Sunni Muslims that kept the religeous right Shiite majority in check. How is it you don’t just float away with that empty head of yours?
…and , Sillyguy, by your standards you MUST consider Che Guevarra an innocent man…. and Fidel Castro…..and Hugo Chavez…but not that right wing CIA backed general from Chile, you know, Reagan’s boy.
Salvador Allende. The murdering crook so beloved by the Republican Party.
65 and 66
Headless – obviously you do not have a brain based on your inane response.
Your 66 reponse totally ignores that the enemy in this war is the extremist muslims. Why do you mention anyone ese?
Silly – It’s not just the “extremist mooslims”. It’s all of them. By their silence, the “moderates” are supporting the “extremists”. Now it may take a few decades, but eventually the civilized world will realize that we must exterminate all 2 billion of them. Every fucking one of them. Every man, woman, and child. Take out every fucking cell of this global cancer.
Think that’s extreme? OK, I’ll retract this statement when “mainstream” mooslims starting running “not in our name” ads, marching on the I-5 freeway through downtown seattle to say “not in our name”, condemning the actions of the extremists, and taking them out on their own.
Am I wrong?…
Until then, they’re all fucking guilty…
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Comments @ 61
You live up to your name.
73
My name has nothing to do with my opinions and the truth. What are are your opnions about the war?
UNDER BUSH RULES: INVADE A COUNTRY THAT DID NOT ATTACK YOUR COUNTRY. INVADE A COUNTRY THAT DOES NOT HAVE WMD
Commentby Anonymous [………..Looks like intel PROVES Sadaam was training and funding terrorists. In addition, what shall we do with the 500 chem [WMD] shells we found in Iraq? If they are harmless, let’s store them in you living room!! Dumb ass lib Democrats will NEVER learn. hehe, JCH Kennedy]
Updo Hairstyles and Updo Pictures.
Updo Hairstyles and Updo Pictures.