Sales tax increase looms for Cincinnati stadiums

In the mid-'90s, sports team owners in Cincinnati demanded a tax increase to buy them 2 sparkling new stadiums - even though the existing stadium was only 25 years old and was more than adequate.

Hamilton County's Republican machine - despite running on a "low tax" platform - gave the teams the tax increase they wanted. Naturally, the tax they increased was the sales tax, for it hits the poor harder.

Although taxpayers were paying for the stadiums, the county refused to require the NFL to waive its blackout rule for the many Bengals games that failed to sell out.

The Republicans' mismanagement of the stadium fund in the ensuing years was so extreme that the county - which the Democrats only recently took control of - now has to decide how to clean up the mess.

Commissioners may be forced to slash county services to pay for team owners' greed. But they're also considering - you guessed it - ANOTHER sales tax increase.

Because the poor have it so easy compared to the rich team owners, I guess. (That's sarcasm, everyone.)

Why not make the Reds and Bengals pay for the stadium fund shortfall? The teams wanted the new stadiums so badly in the first place, so maybe they should pony up.

There is no justification to continue to visit others' ongoing pattern of greed and mismanagement upon the county's working poor.