What is your opinion on this matter?

[happy2learn]

The hospital I volunteer at will be facing a battle in the next few months, and I really am trying to understand every side of this story.

This is a well respected hospital. It is a Level 1 Trauma Center. And it is the only one within 100 miles. It is also a teaching hospital.

The city provides the hospital with $22 million a year to be used for indigent care. The care we are speaking of is not care paid for by medicaid, so there is no "double dipping." That is what was proclaimed in the beginning, by the hospital has proven the city wrong. This levy was passed by the taxpayers. They accepted the tax increase in order to provide this service to the hospital and community. This is what the taxpayer wanted their money to go to.

The care is for the "working poor." These people make too much money for medicaid or any other state/federal assisted health care program. Either their employer does not offer health insurance, or not quality insurance, or they can't afford insurance. These people would not be able to get healthcare of any kind without this assistance. Of course, the ER can't turn them away, but the hospital would be out a ton of money if they just billed people who could never pay.

A large portion, as sad as it is to say, goes to treating assault victims. There is a pretty high crime rate here, and we have gunshot victims in almost every day. There are always multiple assault victims. Not to mention car accidents.

The city is facing a $17 million dollar deficit due to funding that needs to go to the 2 riverfront stadiums. 1 commissioner wants to take the funding from the hospital and give it to the stadiums. He says the only other way to resolve the deficit is by raising real estate or sales tax. I'm not sure if I believe that because the city is planning on spending like $20 billion on a stupid streetcar system that the taxpayers do not want. We voted it down, yet somehow it got through.

Anyways, I have a huge issue with taking money from the poor and giving it to the stadiums. Man, does it make the city look bad. And taxpayers approved of a tax increase so that the money would go to indigent care. How dare they take this money and give it away for a purpose that is was not approved of.

One person said that we should just cut the funding of healthcare for city council employees. Why do they deserve healthcare and the poor do not? I believe they wouldn't be all gung-ho over this proposal if it meant that they would lose their healthcare.

I really don't know what to think. I'm just saddened by it. Guess I need to put on my game face though because the reporters will be all over once it really heats up.

What is your opinion on this matter? If you need more info, let me know. I'm trying to get info from many different sources so it isn't biased

[eriksoln, BSN, RN]

I can't believe that! Well, we can still give away tickets (football.) Just can't sell them.

You know, I think people would go to the football games if they could afford them. But for example, it would cost between $150-$160 for 2 people to go to 1 football game and pay for parking. That doesn't include if they buy and drinks/food during the game.

The same 2 people can go to a baseball game for $19-$24 with parking. The baseball stadium has changed around the economy. They have cheap seats, and they offer a $1 concession stand.

If the football stadium would lower their prices (instead they raised them this year despite relying on Kroger to buy their tickets), then I think it would be a more worthwhile investment. But in this economy, the community cannot afford to go to a football game.

It doesn't help that the city has had to let go of tons of police officers. People were already afraid to go to downtown. Now that there are less patrols, they really don't want to go down there. The night life seems to run across the river.

I do understand why the stadiums are important, business wise. There is a huge project (privately owned by multiple investment companies) going on downtown (conveniently directly in between the 2 stadiums.) Without the business of the stadiums, the potential business for that project would dramatically decrease.

Ugh, but my heart just tells me it's wrong, because it is. The homeless coalition has been fighting the city for years, but most recently a lot has arisen, on a "panhandling" law. I think it's worthless (the panhandling law.) I am very familiar with downtown, and being a petite, young female, I have NEVER been bothered by the homeless. But the city thinks its important to use up the lack of jail space (mind you they release criminals very early because of the lack of space), and city money to lock up homeless people who beg for money.

Sometimes I am just embarrassed to live here. But now I see it isn't just my city. Makes me sick.

The ticket scalpers outside PNC are probably a more depressing bunch than even the homeless. Like I said, you can't give tickets away, much less sell them. These guys are begging people to take their tickets, half face value, no one is interested.

What stadiums are they trying to build anyway? The baseball stadium is relatively new, I doubt they are trying to move out of that one.

Thats why I thought you were talking about FLA. Both their baseball teams want new stadiums and its understood they will get them in the next couple years.

[happy2learn]

The ticket scalpers outside PNC are probably a more depressing bunch than even the homeless. Like I said, you can't give tickets away, much less sell them. These guys are begging people to take their tickets, half face value, no one is interested.

What stadiums are they trying to build anyway? The baseball stadium is relatively new, I doubt they are trying to move out of that one.

Thats why I thought you were talking about FLA. Both their baseball teams want new stadiums and its understood they will get them in the next couple years.

They are not trying to build a stadium. They are both pretty new. The main issue is with the football stadium. Something to do with a lease agreement. Pretty much it seems like the city is losing more money with the lease than they are making by having the stadium here. It really just seems like the city got screwed with the agreement.