TINTO and sports funding

You've heard the term, "gigo," in the computer world, with regard to databases--garbage in, garbage out, meaning you're output is only as good as your input.

I am offering a new term, "tinto," meaning "taxes in, no taxes out" to refer to Councilman Jack Evans and how he supports continuous tax support of sports facilities but doesn't believe that taxes on sporting events ought to support anything other than those facilities.

Today's Post has a story, "Councilman plans to hit up sports fans with District ticket tax," reporting on Councilman Thomas' proposal to put a tax on tickets to sporting events to support parks and recreation programs. From the article:

Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), chairman of the Committee on Finance and Revenue, said Thomas's proposal is problematic. While Thomas said the Washington Nationals would be exempt under an earlier agreement with the city, Evans said Verizon Center -- home to the Capitals, Mystics and Wizards -- would also be exempt unless the arena owner agrees to accept the tax.

"People involved with these teams don't want the money used for things outside" their stadiums, Evans said.

Why the hell does the City Government write contracts that totally, unequivocally favor the sports teams at the expense of the city and its return on investment for the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars spent on the sports teams (for stadiums, arenas, and infrastructure)?

Remember how the Washington Nationals wouldn't pay rent for their stadium because it wasn't "finished" even though they were using it, had their offices inside and functioning?

Doesn't it majorly piss you off that only if they actually live in the city, do players from the "Washington" Nationals, "Washington" Capitals, or "Washington" Wizards pay any income taxes to DC on their salaries, which are earned in DC, where they play?

For some guidance on how the "Growth Machine" works in terms of sports teams, see the section "Local News Media, Green Bay Packers and the Growth Machine" from the paper "Sport News in the Local Media - Green Bay Packers' Return to Glory."