Look out Iowa. Tom Murphy, Pittsburgh's mayor who nearly killed the city of Pittsburgh, is pushing for the cultural elite and new taxes.
DesMoinesRegister.com Ex-Pittsburgh mayor pushes for 'Destiny'
A tax increase would help cultural attractions flourish and would keeps jobs filled with young Iowans, he says.
When king's and their kingdom's covered the lands, the arts were able to flourish at the bequest of the throne. Court jesters, chamber music, salon musicians, and other cultural benefits thrived with a subsidy of the king. In turn, the kings, queens and people of the city enjoyed these cultural attractions.
However, consider the outcome when "cultural attractions" are put on a scale and measured next to another important attraction, i.e., "freedom." There is no comparison.
People will choose to die for the cause of freedom. Freedom and liberty rock the will and the spirit all people everywhere.
Great culture can happen along with oppression. Culture can go hand in hand with taxes. As taxes increase, freedom declines. In turn, the people notice and vote with their feet. They leave.
Tom Murphy has nothing to offer the people of Iowa, or anywhere else. As government chooses to back the arts, cultural attractions and regional elitism, expect one-way tickets to despair.
The Yes to Destiny sales tax is a joke. Don't fall for it. Tom Murphy is nothing but a court jester for hire.
Tom Murphy knows nothing about what really moves American society -- freedom.
Back the arts all you want -- with private efforts, not government supported taxes.
We love the arts. We back the arts. Music runs through to the highest degree.
Pittsburgh has a ballet that plays to recorded music. The orchestra was all laid off. Now the Nutcracker is danced to CD. There are a couple of productions where there is an orchestra. The "cultural district" in Pittsburgh has been more interested in doing real estate deals than really working on the arts. When the government officials play cultural gatekeepers, the cultural gatekeepers have to fill the void and become policy makers. When governmental officials play developer and use their master plans to try to impact what should occur in the marketplace, then the developers are the one's who pull the strings for public policy, again filling the need.
Public officials need to focus on freedom, liberty, defending the constitution. Everyone has a role to play. Don't let the public officials stray into arts funding. It is wrong. And, it doesn't work.
Tonight they'll play a major league baseball game in a public ballpark. The Pirates play at PNC Park -- a venue built and owned by the public -- not the baseball team. And the fans are staging a walkout in the third inning. Everyone in the region is disgusted with the baseball team, its ownership, the amount that they 'invest' into the operations. The team is a joke in terms of competitiveness. The team is one of the most profitable ones in baseball. However, the fans are getting a giant rip-off.
Tom Murphy gave sugar-daddy deals to the sports teams in Pittsburgh. This was justified, in part, to keep people in the region. Well, it didn't work. More people are moving away. The population decline continues in its downward spiral.
People move to places without baseball teams, without cultural attractions, without taxes. People move to places where government officials have their priorities straight and worry about public matters -- not the elite, cultural and unimportant.
Iowa should tell Tom Murphy to exit. We did. His type isn't welcome here any longer.
Iowa should go listen to Ron Paul. He'll make mention of a few more pressing matters that need the attention of elected policy makers and stewards of public matters.
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