Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinordi
Libraries are a public good, hockey teams are not.
One is not viable as a private business, the other one is.
One needs substantial public funding, the other does not.
The fact that we're even having this conversation is just depressing. I would hope we'd have some more civic virtue to invest in literacy, culture, and learning with our scarce public dollars than to subsidize a near half a billion dollar profitable business so that we can dry our hands with greater ease.
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You're trying too hard.
First of all, no one argued that an arena is an equivalent public good to a library (someone merely asked about attendance/usage, and others discussed that).
Second, while it is obvious that investing in culture and learning is vital and at or near the top of the list of civic desires, that does not dismiss investing in other things that also have (lesser) civic benefit. Dog parks do nothing for me (or the vast majority of citizens), but they have their place. The Peace bridge doesn't make me a better person, but it is a part of our city. An arena is not as important as a library, obviously, but it is a part of the fabric of a city. To dismiss it
entirely is almost as ridiculous as the false argument you attempted to make.
Third, the project, as it stands, includes a stadium and a field house - the public benefits of which, I would hope are self-evident.
Finally, your silly passive-aggressive attempts to insult anyone that takes a stance in any way contrary to yours, are laughable.