Big League or Thrid World?
That seems to be the big, pressing question before the good people of Indianapolis. Oh, it hasn't been stated this way explicitly, but I think it should be. Here are the two local stories on the front page of this morning's Indy Star:
Headline, above the fold, uppermost left- "City debates if paying Colts would pay off".
Headline, above the fold, center, below the Colts story, "Insufficient Infrastructure. Storm deluge sends raw sewage gushing".
The stories placed side-by-side like this makes the choice clear- fix the sewers.
It is rare that libertarians argue for common resources and common funding. However, most libertarians will argue that sewers and other infrastructure are among the rare instances where common resources are appropriately administered by government. The argument can successfully be made for privatization of sewers, but for the time being, they are a common resource. So long as they are, they should be fully funded and fully functional, and should not overflow every time better than a half-inch of rain falls.
It is quite the mind-blower that people are arguing for socialized football, and worse, making it a priority over sewers.
The bitter irony here is that, "to proponents, it's money well spent for being 'big-league'". Look to the city that hosts the Colts opener today: Cleveland. That city has had major league baseball since the 1890's, the NFL with a three-year gap since 1950, and the NBA since 1970. That city's big league status wasn't called into question when the Browns left for Baltimore in 1996. It was called to the mat when the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969. Ever since, when a comedian has needed a cheap laugh and didn't wish to use profanity, he uttered the word, "Cleveland".
If Indianapolis begins to have cases of cholera because raw sewage escapes the system with heavy rains, all the football welfare in the world won't save the city from worldwide stigma. Cleveland will breath a sigh of relief and pass the torch to us.
The Libertarian Party has been on the correct side of both of these issues for years: Fund the sewage system. Leave the Colts to the free enterprize system.
