Nassau Democrats just lost the Jobs argument.

The Response I got from the NCDC as follows:

Here at the NCDC, we don't think it's right for local government to subsidize private profit with taxpayer dollars. That's why we oppose Ed Mangano's plan to finance a new Nassau Coliseum by borrowing $400 million from local communities. Let's make one thing clear: There's a difference between supporting the Islanders and supporting bad fiscal policy. As the Daily News explains in this well-thought editorial, Mangano's plan for the Coliseum would lavish profit on Islanders owner Charles Wang while eating up millions of dollars in taxpayer funds every year for the next 30 years. That's not the kind of policy we can endorse in the middle of a recession. Charles Wang is a billionaire. Nassau County is over a billion dollars in debt. He can afford to build a new Coliseum. We can't. Agree or disagree, we hope you'll make your voice heard on August 1. Nassau County Exec Edward Mangano's $400 mil gift to billionaire Charles Wang is bad for taxpayers NY Daily News July 25, 2011 Why should the voters of Nassau reject County Executive Edward Mangano's plan to borrow $400 million to build a new arena for the National Hockey League's Islanders? Because, according to the Islanders' own figures, the deal would be a bonanza for team owner Charles Wang while saddling taxpayers with huge risks. Why else should voters reject Mangano's scheme at the polls Aug. 1? Because, according to the county's Office of Legislative Budget Review, a new Nassau Coliseum would produce too little revenue to spare taxpayers from having to subsidize Wang's profits. As with so much of Mangano's pig-in-a-poke proposal, the financial projections are as squishy as they come - one more reason for voters to be wary. That said, let's do a runthrough. Sunnily, the Islanders foresee an astonishing 73% rise in attendance, producing $229 million in annual gross revenue. Multiply that $229 million figure by the 30-year life of the bond issue that Mangano is proposing, and you get a stupefying $6.9 billion. Just the .9 part is more - actually, a lot more - than the $768 million in total debt service the county expects to incur on the arena. That being the case, the county would be much better off passing on Wang's promise of a cut of the action and requiring him to raise private financing - assuming private lenders would give him money at a reasonable rate. If not, why should the public? The legislative office is far less optimistic than Wang. It projects, perhaps, a 14% jump in attendance, an amount that would require the Islanders to pay the county only $14 million a year - which is, oh, just $12 million a year less than the county would have to pay on the bonds. The office also predicts that the county would reap more than $3 million in sales tax from coliseum business - but this number is to be taken with a huge grain of salt. Almost every dollar that Nassau residents spend at the coliseum would be offset by a dollar that they do not spend elsewhere. Result: As tax collections would go up at the coliseum, the county would lose money elsewhere. The bottom line is that, while on the hook to repay the bonds even if Wang goes bankrupt, and being obligated to pay for heavy upkeep of the building, every taxpayer would have the privilege of spending $20 or so a year in order to enable Wang to enjoy gross annual revenues, by his own calculation, of $229 million. Absurd.

What the Party has quite Stupidly forgotten is that this is not Charles Wang's play thing. Yes, as the owner of the new buildings most Active Tennant for 6 months a year, the Owners of the New York Islanders (and there will be many after Wang, lets face it, sports teams change hands a lot these days). However, the Coliseum would fill the COUNTY'S Coffers with funds. Unemployment as of April was a little over 6% in Nassau county. much better than many other areas in the NYC-Metro area, but why is adding 2,000 jobs an issue?


Would Nassau Dems be this vehemently against things if this deal were struck between Tom Suozzi and Charles wang or would they do the right thing, swallow the poisoned pill and at least have a deal. 


Sometimes in politics having a deal, even a raw one, is better than no deal at all. 


Nassau Dems just lost the "We should be creating jobs" argument in their quest for regaining the Legislative Majority, and will lose it again in 2 years if "NO" wins Next Monday. As a Democrat, a realist, and someone wh thinks this whole thing should've been co-ordinated better....this simply saddens me to no end.