MiddleClassSports.com

Lester Munson of ESPN.com had a great column about the impact of Barack Obama’s presidency on sports.  Obviously, his tax plan to increase the amount paid by anyone who makes more than $250,000 a year will affect every single professional athlete.  It affects every owner, too.  In a tough economic time, when losses have been steep for some investors, owners don’t want to also face the possibility of paying more in taxes.  They will have to, though, and that leads me to today’s column.

I’m going to teach you something today about economics, and I will use sports to do it.

Democrats like to say that they are for the lower and middle classes.  They paint Republicans as nasty, big-business fat cats who couldn’t care less about the poor.  This isn’t true.

Republicans support businesses of all sizes.  They are, for the most part, free-market capitalists who want to create favorable conditions for those who want to create new businesses.

On the flip side, it’s untrue to say that the Democrats support the lower and middle classes.  They may redistribute money to entitlement programs that support poor people, but in the end, it’s the poor that the Democrats’ policies hurt.

Here’s an example: Democrats have been touting this “windfall profits tax” against oil companies.  That’s their answer to the record profits that the oil companies have been receiving.  Let’s say that the Democrats pass this windfall profits tax in the amount of $100 million.  How will the company pay for that extra $100 million tax?  Will they take it from past profits?

No.  They will figure out how much gas you and I will buy in the next year and they will increase their prices to cover the extra expense.  Which means that the poor people who drive beat-up cars with poor gas mileage will be paying for this tax.  Not the oil companies.

Let’s take this back to sports.  The owners’ expenses will be increased under the Obama presidency.  More taxes.  Economic hard times.  In order to maintain their profits, what will sports team owners do?

Raise ticket prices.  Raise concession prices.  Raise the price of a personal seat license.  In short, they will force you and I — the people that Obama’s tax policies are supposed to help — to pay the difference.

Will Obama’s tax plan on anyone making $250,000 a year help the lower and middle classes, like he promised?

No.  You will end up paying for the money that sports owners are paying to Washington.

Maybe you should think about that the next time you vote.

Scott Wiebe likes sports, and hates politics.  In fact, here’s a promise.  No more political messages on this site.  Unless my anti-playoff platform is considered political.  Check out his political message today.