This post originally appeared at https://www.bootsandsabers.com/2023/11/16/too-big-to-fail/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=too-big-to-fail

Be skeptical when politicians tell you that we have to inject hundreds of millions of dollars into a private business because they are just. too. important. Important to whom? Follow the money.

Major league baseball and the Brewers are a significant and prestigious item on the State of Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee’s resume.

The prestige of being a Major League Baseball town is priceless. Employers big and small use Wisconsin’s resume of Great Lakes, woods and waters, arts and entertainment, successful education systems, and professional sports teams as ways to recruit the talent needed to fill our workforce and economic needs.

In short, the Brewers (and other major league attractions) are too important to lose.

I have worked in with businesses in Wisconsin for decades and have never – not once – seen an employer tout the Brewers to a job candidate as a reason to take the job.

This deal is terrible for taxpayers. It’s fantastic for the owners of the Brewers and politicians.