Mall of America executives, planning a $2 billion expansion of the mall, are continuing to press for nearly $400 million in state subsidies. Mall officials warn that the mall has "no chance of being built" if the subsidies are not given. If they have such a crummy business plan, maybe they just shouldn't bother.
The mall is a business, not a public service. Here's the way business works: you invest your own money, and then you expect that revenues will allow you to make that money back, plus a profit. Is the mall not making big enough profits? If not, why expand at all?
There's simply no good reason for them to be getting public funding. This is not like subsidizing some non-profit to rehabilitate a blighted area or clean up the environment. Heck, the new stores in the mall won't even provide living-wage jobs! I don't understand what possible argument there could be for diverting nearly $400 million from our schools, our lakes, and our infrastructure to build an even bigger megamall.
What really kills me is that MOA fatcats seem to have already won this debate. The legislature is not debating over whether the mall should be subsidized; they're debating over whether it should be subsidized by the State or by the city of Bloomington. Well, I've got a different perspective: if you can't do it on your own, try a different business plan!
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