Citi Field and Manchester United: Your Tax Dollars At Work

The government's bailout of our collapsing financial industry continues apace—you got your check, right?—but now that these companies are playing with our money, suddenly everyone is an expert. Some are suggesting that maybe the reason these firms are in trouble is because they like to waste money and that if we give them even more money they'll just waste that too. I guess it all depends on your point of view. Do you consider soccer jerseys a waste of money? Failed insurance company AIG currently pays Manchester United $125 million dollars to have their rather bland logo appear on the chests of its players. Of course, AIG would not exist right now if it weren't for the $150 billion that the U.S. government gave them to stay afloat. The New York Mets' new stadium isn't even open yet, but Citigroup is on the hook for $400 million over the next 20 years to have their named permanently affixed to it. That's a lot of money—almost enough to pay the salaries for some of the 52,000 people they plan to lay off in the next year. Of course, to the companies this is merely advertising money and even crappy businesses need to advertise, right? Unless the advertising goes to greedy sports companies and their prima donna athletes, and no one wants that. That's partially why General Motors ended their luxurious partnership with Tiger Woods before putting their hand out. They wouldn't want Congress to think that they need a government check, just so they can turn around and hand it to the Richiest Rich on the planet. Have you seen his wife? Isn't that enough? On the other hand, if the Mets couldn't charge $20 million for the name on their stadium, they would "have to" charge $500 for the seats inside it. (Wait, they already do. Make that $500 more.) Plus, an extra $30 to park next to it and another $2 added to the price of that beer. And the AIG ads would now be on the soccer field instead of the players, and the TV timeouts would get longer, and your cable bill would get higher, and one way or another Jerry Jones ends up with your money. In other words, government, business, sports are really all part of the same greedy monster that is actively working to screw you out of your hard (and not-so-hard) earned money. So just lie back and enjoy it, I guess. Bailed-out companies AIG, Citibank have no plans to cancel expensive sports sponsorships. [Think Progress] Failed Companies On Your Stadium or Kit [I Dislike Your Favorite Team] PGA Tour, other players to feel effects of Tiger Woods, Buick break up [ESPN] We Now Own The Mets [Five Tool Tool] AIG Using Taxpayers’ $150 Billion To Annoy Comedy Blog [Wonkette] S.I. Pols Say CitField Should be Citi/Taxpayer Field [Gothamist] End of an Era: GM’s Sports Advertisement Budget and Billion Dollar Stadiums