The Empire Strikes Back (Again)

The Yanks sign high-priced free agent Mark Texiera.  The oppression continues.

Comments

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, and count your blessings that you don't live">http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/mariners/index.html#035563">live in Seattle.

[PD]

Seattle link should be this, I suspect.

[jorod]

I think we need an excess profits tax on baseball players.

Merry Christmas!!

[FPR]

What if New York Goes Bankrupt?

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The dirty secret of Empire State budgeting is that New York City depends disproportionately on Wall Street for its budget and New York State depends on New York City.

In the last four months, the financial landscape has changed dramatically. Investment banks that have been the engine of the city's tax revenue for decades have disappeared entirely or morphed into restricted new entities. According to E.J. McMahon, my colleague at the Manhattan Institute, between 1980 and 2007 the securities industry's share of wages in the state rocketed from 3 percent to 18 percent, with the average Wall Street salary and bonus rising to $379,000. Wall Street revenues made up 20 percent of the state's budget. So the 40,000 local jobs lost in the financial sector are only the beginning. We're not facing a cyclical downturn; we're facing a fundamental alteration of the facts of financial life in New York.
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Maybe the Yankees are being a bit hasty in signing all these big long-term contracts.

[Thomas Collins]

Congratulations, Yanks fans. This signing will bring you as many World Series victories as the A-Rod signing!

All in good fun, of course. In this XMas season, I wish good cheer to sports fans of any team (and also to those who wouldn't be caught dead with the dial turned to sports talk radio).

[kim]

Juyst nuy Ruy guy.
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[Appalled]

May Tex bring you just as many championships as he brought the Braves...

[matt]

and the Angels...

[Danube of Thought]

I would think if there was one franchise that has learned that it doesn't happen until you do it on the field, it would be the once-proud Bombers.

[jimmyk]

New York City depends disproportionately on Wall Street for its budget and New York State depends on New York City.

Yes, and all the more so because both have progressive income taxes, which are great in a boom, but are two-edged sword as they revenues plummet disproportionately at times like the present. The only hope is that the state and the city are forced to do some fundamental reforms on the spending side, which got totally out of control. People criticize Wall St for leveraging and living beyond its means, but the city and state were active participants. Especially the state, as it dictates a lot of the spending by the city.

[PDinDetroit]

PRS - All the salt from the mines here couldn't solve the mess that is Detroit.

[kim]

Wow, charging off the Mission field, Ruben Navarrette likes Arne Duncan. NCLB yes, charter schools, yes, unions, why won't you at least talk?
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[sbwaters]

We drove the kids and cousins to NYC this past summer to say goodbye to a lifetime of experiences. Say what you will about the Yankees, that's what it's all about... a summertime outing with no clock and the joy that comes from the unexpected on the field. Gardner debuted, A-Rod tagged one, and we said goodbye to the big, dingy, yellow foul pole in Left field that still held the mark from the last game where the umpire missed the home run call.

[sophy]

We all love game, if you want to play it, please buy cheap knight gold and join us.