The Super Bowl in New York: Fiscally Irresponsible?

They had reason to party. The New York/New Jersey local economy expected a Super Bowl injection of roughly half a billion dollars in revenue. What it received was fiscal anxiety. According to an AmeriHealth New Jersey article entitled "What was the Super Bowl's Economic Impact?," local taxpayers should be very worried about what the cost of the Super Bowl means to them. And while they were promised an economic boom, they were not told they could be footing the bill. Local mayors in New York and New Jersey remained skeptical that they lacked the resources to fund this year's Super Bowl. The most costly expenses include security and fire protection for the stadium, as well as the funding of police working overtime after the game. Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli expressed these budget worries to the National Football League, but they "fell on deaf ears." "Their feeling is that you should just be honored that the game is here," said Gonnelli. "Sometimes, I think the NFL looks for ways that you don't make money. They want to keep everything for themselves." I think there is a lot of truth to what this article is saying. Residents of New York and New Jersey were likely excited to hear the coming of a Super Bowl to their local businesses. But, the fact of the matter is in economics, the saying goes "There is no such thing as a free lunch." My impression from this article is that politicians and businesses alike wanted all of the benefits from hosting a Super Bowl (the full restaurants, booked hotels) but did not want to pay for it. In my opinion, the fact that taxpayers may have experience a tax hike for a game that already happened is even worse. A good illustration of this concept is a Jerry Seinfeld bit on going out to dinner. When you sit down, money is no object to you because you are hungry. You ask the waiter for more drinks, extra appetizers, and expensive sauces as you consume your food. And once you are full and happy, the check arrives, always higher than anticipated, in which you have to pay for food that you have already eaten. In other words, you're not thinking about what it will cost you while you're ordering it. I think the same goes for the way local New Yorkers view this year's Super Bowl. They were hungry for higher commercial revenue, but not for higher taxes. Even worse is they're paying for food that wasn't even good. The game itself was a complete blow out from the very first play, one of the most one sided Super Bowls in recent history. As further details materialize regarding increased taxes, there is sure to be some political backlash. And while taking water and some Advil will cure a hangover, it will take much more to justify a tax hike for a underwhelming Super Bowl that's already happened. Source: http://nj1015.com/what-was-the-super-bowls-economic-impact-audio/


By Lat Peak