Cincinnati Bengals need more tax dollars...

Been off a few days, wife's been sick (still is), helping kids with homework, etc. etc. etc.

Had a great day Sunday rooting for the Bengals and against Denver and Dallas. Too bad Pittsburgh had played the Thursday night before. Rooted against them, too, but it didn't do any good.

Anyway, I've been leery in the past few years of people in government trying their hand in dealing with the business community. Politicians say they want to run government like a business, but you can't do that. I mean, if Huntington runs short of money, it can't liquidate assets by selling off 5th Avenue. (West Virginia might want to lease out the Turnpike sometime, the way Indiana is doing, but that's another topic for another blog item).

Anyway, on this morning's AP wire was a good reason for government to shy away from doing business with business:

"CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals are invoking a provision in their lease that forces Hamilton County to reimburse the team for Paul Brown Stadium’s artificial turf.

"The lease says the county, which owns the stadium, must pay for the turf if it also has been installed at seven of the other publicly funded stadiums in the National Football League.

"The Bengals added the FieldTurf before the 2004 season. The same surface is now used at publicly funded stadiums in East Rutherford, N.J.; Seattle, Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Louis, Buffalo and Minneapolis.

"The clause in the lease will cost Hamilton County taxpayers about $900,000.
" 'This is another example of how unfair this (lease) is to the taxpayers of Hamilton County,' Commissioner Phil Heimlich said. 'There’s no limit to the number of gadgets they can buy and charge to the taxpayer.'

"Commissioners are expected to approve paying the Bengals in three annual payments.
The team failed in several attempts to grow suitable natural grass at Paul Brown Stadium, which opened in 2000."

In their quest to keep the Bengals from moving, it looks like the Hamilton County Commissioners gave Mike Brown the keys to the Hamilton County treasury.