Yankees Rant!

OK, if this story is true, then I OFFICIALLY HATE THE YANKEES! I HATE THE STEINBRENNERS! I HATE CASHMAN! I HATE THAT MY TAXES ARE PAYING TO BUILD A NEW STADIUM FOR THOSE STINKIN' BUMS!

They have spent over $400 million on player contracts for C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira. (Maybe with all that money, the first two can buy full names, and the last one can buy an X that sounds like an X.) According to several articles, the Yankees have procured over $940 million in tax-exempt bonds, and are trying to get $366 million more! (This is to say nothing of the $600+ million that went to the Mets for a new stadium, and the $800 million that Bruce Rattner wants for a new arena in Brooklyn, ostensibly for the Nets.)

Welcome back to the age of the Public Works Projects!

On top of that, Bud "Hank's Buddy" Selig has seen fit to slap them with a paltry $26.3 million luxury tax for last season. That ought to teach them! This is peanuts compared to the $270 million in tax savings they get for their tax-exempt bonds.

When is the league (and the fans) going to take a serious step toward fiscal responsibility? How can the teams, in good conscience, ask the fans to pay ridiculously high prices for seats, then expect them to pay to build the stadium also?

This is a travesty. There are people starving in our streets every day because of lack of services, crimes unsolved because of lack of police officers in the streets, children being failed by their schools due to lack of funding. New York State is in a financial crisis and is trying to slash the budget and therefore many necessary services to the communities. The Federal government is still fighting two wars and coping with a HUGE bailout of the financial and automotive industries. How does Hank Steinbrenner figure that the Yankees are exempt from paying their fair share?

I don't get it.