The state's legislature recently thumbed its nose at America's premiere icon, professional sports.
Legislators refused to fund a $150-million major-league baseball stadium with lottery revenues, even though the cost would have been repaid by state income taxes on salaries of the multimillionaire players.
(Portland--Oregon's largest and America's most-livable city--has one major franchise, the Trailblazers of the National Basketball Assn. The state's other sports teams are minor league.)
Because of a statewide cap on local property taxes, Oregon's state lottery and income-tax dollars increasingly supplement budgets of local public schools--mere shadows of their former excellence and stability.
Legislators, however, weren't just protecting scarce revenues for schools.
They also wanted to avoid the future or-else threats from fickle owners of major-league franchises posturing for more and more perks from taxpayers and fans.
Legislators additionally realized that Oregonians don't need more major-league teams to coddle and idolize as validators of a fan's personal worth.
Hooray for the home team. (15 JULY 2001)
