Quote:
Originally Posted by rrskylar
My post was so last week, I've now changed my tune, TN should actually get double what they asked for, all public spending is a good thing even if there are no public benefits, my negativity just got in the way of rational Manitoba thinking!
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I think everyone here knows exactly what I was saying. Let me sum it up:
1) TN gets as much as the city is willing to give. If the papers tomorrow read "rrskylar to receive 25M annual allowance", I'd say "good for that guy (rrskylar), but fuck THAT guy (Bowman)". IF TN did some underhanded things to secure political favour that's another matter but I'd prefer not to get so cynical on little to no basis.
2) I actually lean conservative/libertarian much like yourself. When it comes to our construction industry downtown and our marketplace, both PRIVATE factors, yes, we may actually need the government in some cases. Our costs are too high, our rents too low, and there hasn't been an established demand for downtown office or even downtown living yet... the market isn't generating the revenue.
Because Winnipeg is so resistant to new things, a function of the private citizen and the perceived dependence on gubment, we're left with a chicken/egg situation. No, TNS, 300 Main, and SkyCity would have NOT proceeded beyond renderings without funding.
Look at our new Outlets, and how everyone is bitching that it's not the Disneyland of Outlet Malls. And we're in Winnipeg, struggling to fill old target locations. So it helps to be big to draw attention and business.
3) I do not like handouts, but hey, this is industry, not social programming. Perhaps in my cynical eye some of these grants are dues paid back to the people who are bringing productivity and vibrancy to our downtown, rather than handouts. It's not like all the permits and infinite taxes thereafter that go straight to the city are fair market value.
4) This is commonplace, do some degree. These projects add public value, in particular TNS because of its intent to bring public activity outdoors not just to Earls on Main or into an apartment suite. It's adjacent to and coordinated with our biggest regular attraction, the jets.
5) Is it perhaps farcical that the "plaze and skywalk" need so much money? Perhaps. But it's not lining pockets, it's making the project viable because the REST of it is so expensive, in my estimated opinion.
Why? Because private industry (I'm reminding you I'm quite conservative and was rooting for Bernier) has artificially set prices of concrete very high. Furthermore, steel and many other trades are leading the nation in high prices. The building is too expensive, and even a cheaper design would be also.
thus ends a typically long Wolf summary.
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