Libertarian Party of NY

Ball Pork
The author, Chris Garvey, is the Libertarian candidate for Governor of New York

Although mayor Guliani opposes welfare for the poor, he is not adverse to welfare in principle. Witness his advocacy of a massive welfare scheme designed to provide tax subsidized benefits to George Steinbrenner: a new Yankee stadium.

Guliani proposes taxing every struggling ma and pa enterprise in this city, in order to subsidize and increase the profits of multimillionaire Steinbrenner. He proposes using eminent domain to steal peoples land in Manhattan to use for the new ballpark. And of course there will be tax-free bond issues for favored brokers to sell, in competition with private efforts to raise money for useful private enterprises which are taxed.

While there are many logistic and economic reasons not to move the stadium, the opportunity to transfer vast amounts of wealth from poor and disfavored New Yorkers to Guliani's political cronies and contributors is too good for him to miss. A private enterprise would have to weigh the real cost of such a move. But the city politician doesn't need to calculate such things. Most of the real cost will be stolen from someone else.

Libertarians oppose all theft of some peoples earnings to benefit others. But I especially oppose robbing from the poor and middle class to give to the rich. That's why I oppose the mayor's Yankee Stadium scheme on principle.

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