D-Day

Today, for the people of KC, there is no other issue worth mentioning other than The Stadium Tax vote. I'll be surprised if I post anything else. I truly believe that today is a historic vote that will decide the future of this town one way or another. Is Kansas City a place where corporations like The Star, The Chiefs and The Royals set the agenda or are local voters smart enough to see through bullshit, propaganda and cynical ploys by local demagogues like Pat Grey and Steve Glorioso and decide that it's not the sports teams that make this town great?

I think this vote will say a lot about Kansas City and the people of Jackson County. It will define our priorities. For too long, this city and its lousy leadership have ignored basic infrastructure needs in favor of glamorous vanity projects that have never been able to yield the kind of revenue or jobs that were promised in the beginning . . . When they were asking for taxpayer money. The Stadium Tax is part of the same trend that will put more money in the hands of billionaires and the incompetent officials at the County level than it will ever do to help the average person in KC. The vast economic benefits are myth and all of the events promised once the money is handed over seem like nothing more than bribes and misdirection to anyone with at least a cursory understanding of how politics and big business work.

There is a Rap tune I really liked when I was growing up entitled "The Choice is yours." The chorus goes: "You can get with this, or you can get with that." I'll be playing that song constantly today as the voters of Jackson County (a minority of people in this town) decide if KC belongs to billionaires and their corrupt imps or the many people in this town who probably can't afford to go to any of the events touted by the propaganda on behalf of this epic swindle.

Finally, I think that the methods used by advocates on both sides of the issue are important to analyze. Stadium supporters are backed up by a multi-million dollar advertising campaign and they have co-opted the only newspaper in this town, a few minor media outlets and various important political organizations. At the same time, the effort to speak out against the Rolling Roof Rip-off or at least critically examine the issue has been largely the domain of bloggers, civic activists and people who are basically doing the work for free with little or no financial interest in the outcome. Put simply, the only people supporting this thing are those being paid while opponents come almost entirely from everyday citizens. It's also worth noting that people like Steve Glorioso and other big business lap dogs have done nothing but practice intimidation and derision of voices not sanctioned, paid or affiliated with the mainstream and largely compliant media outlets in this town.

But in the end, what's important is what you think. I've always noted that the most important opinion on this page is the one you formulate for yourself. So think long and hard about what you want the future of this city to look like. Are the stadiums the most important thing about this town or is there something, anything more pressing that could use that kind of funding? In the end, thankfully, the decision is yours.