Reason TV: What Cleveland should learn from LeBron
posted at 11:10 am on July 10, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
I avoided writing about l’affaire LeBron this week, mainly because I don’t follow basketball, but also to avoid contributing even further to the ridiculous spectacle of a sports network giving a platform for a multimillionaire in prime time to reveal which owner would pay him a fortune to play in his city. There wasn’t much to learn from it, other than ESPN must be getting desperate for prime-time programming. The broadcaster once known for its hip and cynical take on sports has descended to the level of huckster for the very pretentions it used to skewer, perhaps a natural progression from its increasingly steroidal and exploding graphics.
Reason TV’s Nick Gillespie and Dan Hayes turn it into a teaching moment, however, by reminding angry Cleveland fans that LeBron James did what more than half of the city’s population has done over the years: leave. While Cleveland has built huge edifices, both literally and then figuratively in LeBron, the city and the state of Ohio has ignored the fact that their tax codes have made them uncompetitive. People don’t want to waste their money on big public projects; they want to keep their money and invest it in their communities themselves:
Don’t blame LeBron for leaving Cleveland. Fix the problems that made James just the latest of a long parade of Clevelanders to look for greener pastures. Reason has a lengthy series focusing on Cleveland and the choices it should make to bring a new renaissance to the city, and that advises Cleveland to get rid of its edifice complex.
Blowback
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Drained Brain on July 10, 2010 at 11:12 AM
No sales tax in FL baby.
Akzed on July 10, 2010 at 11:16 AM
I think you meant “no state income tax” but your point is well taken. Rush has moved there as well.
VegasRick on July 10, 2010 at 11:17 AM
oops… no income tax in FL.
Akzed on July 10, 2010 at 11:17 AM
If the MSM had covered Obamacare and its implications for the rest of us with the same furvor and intensity it has wasted covering the the LeBron James debacle, we wouldn’t be in the current mess we are in!
pilamaye on July 10, 2010 at 11:17 AM
Was Drew Carey available for comment?
bbz123 on July 10, 2010 at 11:18 AM
And he’s still fighting NYC to prove he hasn’t or doesn’t live or work there.
Akzed on July 10, 2010 at 11:19 AM
My interest in the NBA is on par with the the PGA, NFL, MLB, and NASCAR. Five of the most boring sports in the world, and they are all American.
Sunday the big Orange will defeat Spain.
Inanemergencydial on July 10, 2010 at 11:20 AM
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
IrishEi on July 10, 2010 at 11:22 AM
From Heritage.org:
LeBron’s Taxing Decision: Did Florida’s low tax rates lead to LeBron’s big move?
Sharke on July 10, 2010 at 11:25 AM
At least Cleveland isn’t Detroit…
ninjapirate on July 10, 2010 at 11:25 AM
I feel more for the People of West Virginia. I grew up there and for the last 60 years the sole investment the state had was in Robert Byrd.
He was bringing in the tax dollars. Now he is gone and the sugar train has ended. There is no future in West Virginia we morgaged it on Robert Byrd.
You never bet on celebrities to bring you success you need leaders. That standard applies for the election of 2008 as well.
William Amos on July 10, 2010 at 11:26 AM
BTW, let’s not blame this entirely on taxes… it’ll take a lot more than changing the tax structure for Cleveland to compete with Miami…
ninjapirate on July 10, 2010 at 11:28 AM
It`s a dream they`re shootin` for.
ThePrez on July 10, 2010 at 11:30 AM
I mentioned elsewhere that James was preceded in the flight to Florida by none other than the late liberal U.S. senator from Ohio, Howard Metzenbaum. I remember that after HM’s death, the Wall Street Journal ran a short editorial highlighting that HM avoid Ohio estate tax on most of his estate by relocating to Florida before his death.
Today’s Wall Street Journal reminds of this point in an short editorial about James’s departure.
BuckeyeSam on July 10, 2010 at 11:32 AM
Could never understand the loyalty to players of any organized sport, they all show more loyalty to the dollar than to their home communities. Just to be clear, the loyalty to the highest dollar is not a problem with me it is the loyalty to the home team without the home grown atheletes.
fourdeucer on July 10, 2010 at 11:37 AM
As United States Collapses, Media Worships LeBron James is a powerful 5 min. 22 sec. video expansion of your statement.
Basil Fawlty on July 10, 2010 at 11:44 AM
[ninjapirate on July 10, 2010 at 11:25 AM]
Comparing circles of Hell, eh?
Dusty on July 10, 2010 at 11:46 AM
Maybe he just doesn’t like snow and cold. Some people don’t.
RBMN on July 10, 2010 at 11:46 AM
Didn’t talk long. Know what’s boring? All these “your sport is boring” posts. We get it. It’s old.
Back to topic, I still can’t believe that it was a TV special. I really thought that was parody when I first read it.
I guess people need a distraction, but I do find it odd that pro athlete salaries have not been affected by the recession – but don’t let a trader on Wall Street get a bonus!
Many people have been conditioned very well by their limosine-liberal masters.
At any rate, lot of attention being paid to a guy who can’t close the deal and win a championship. My prediction is that a “King” James team will never will the title. But he’ll make a lot of money and maybe get another tatoo or something.
I further predict “King” James will fall in with the wrong Miami crowd and we’ll be seeing a mugshot within 12 months.
reaganaut on July 10, 2010 at 11:55 AM
That’s their new tourism slogan.
Cleveland- at least we’re not Detroit!
Monica on July 10, 2010 at 11:56 AM
Syracuse is playing Spain?
Heh.
Dreadnought on July 10, 2010 at 11:56 AM
Hey, he’s wearing 23 in that billboard shot? He wears 23, really? Hahaha – good one.
I predict in 6 months then.
Lebron mughsot and/or a headline with the words (in any order) – Club – 4 AM – shooting – Escalade – followed by the phrase, “A spokesman for James said he left the club before any trouble started.”
reaganaut on July 10, 2010 at 12:02 PM
There is an excellent Wall Street Journal editorial today (Saturday, July 10) concerning the tax consequences of LeBron’s decision to go to Miami, Florida rather than staying in the Akron-Cleveland area or going to New York. It is those consequences that are worth thinking about.
Staying in Ohio, Lebron would have been faced with a 7% state income tax and over a five year period a tax liability of $7 million. Going to New York, LeBron would have been faced with a 12+% state income tax and over a five year period a tax liabiliity of over $12 million. Going to Florida, LeBron will pay NO state income tax because there is no state income tax in Florida.
LeBron is probably right to think that with the team that Miami will have next year, he maximizes his chances of being on an NBA Championship team, which will further increase his financial value as a player as well as realize a dream as a basketball player. The Cleveland Cavs seem to have hit a wall as a team, and the Knicks will need more than one player to make them a Championship team.
So LeBron has made a highly intelligent choice. Why pay millions of dollars of state income taxes and play with teams that are less likely to win an NBA Championship when you can go where you pay no state income taxes and play for a team that is sure to be a contender?
Also, as the Wall Street Journal points out, not just LeBron has made the decision to leave Cleveland. In the last 20 years, abnout 20 Fortune 500 companies have left Cleveland.
Phil Byler on July 10, 2010 at 12:02 PM
If I want to shut up libs here in CA about how we “need to raise taxes on the rich so they pay their fair share” I ask them how they would prevent them from moving away. Eventually they will HAVE to become fascist and PREVENT them from moving.
oddjob1138 on July 10, 2010 at 12:03 PM
Any seasoned Cleveland fan knew he was leaving. No one is really over-the-top mad about that. It’s the way he did it.
That being said… Amen about the tax code.
I live in Kucinich’s district and everyone my age never votes for him. My wife works with the elderly. She says it’s all them. Maybe Obama-care will take care of that… /s
ConDem on July 10, 2010 at 12:13 PM
My question on all this is, where is Ken Feinberg, obama’s pay czar?
JeffVader on July 10, 2010 at 12:13 PM
Cleveland: “We suck less!”
jaime on July 10, 2010 at 12:23 PM
2009 Cleveland Browns: 5-11.
2009 Detroit Lions: 2-14.
Sort of like the republicans and democratics. The republicans suck less.
jaime on July 10, 2010 at 12:31 PM
Kasich to the rescue? Are Ohioans smart enough to elect him?
parteagirl on July 10, 2010 at 12:32 PM
I don’t want to talk for Drew Carey: he might agree with Reason’s argument.
tom0508 on July 10, 2010 at 12:35 PM
The mean streets of Cleve-Land.
mrt721 on July 10, 2010 at 12:36 PM
Not yet. But they’re on the glide path.
JohnGalt23 on July 10, 2010 at 12:44 PM
My motto is this… Cleveland, it’s a great place to live if you have a job and are out in the suburbs.
myrenovations on July 10, 2010 at 12:58 PM
The tax analysis is bunk. This isnt real life people, this is the NBA.
The fact of the matter is, LeBron James left almost 45 million dollars on the table to sign with the Heat. This is A LOT more money than he would save on taxes in Florida.
How the NBA works should matter and that isnt factored into any of these “tax theories”.
That having been said, the issue with LeBacle is that he left, its HOW he left. This man went from the most loved player in the NBA to the most hated in a matter of 3 weeks. He now makes Kobe Bryant look like a good guy and Kobe actually RAPED someone.
xRos on July 10, 2010 at 1:04 PM
Pretty much.
July 10 on July 10, 2010 at 1:09 PM
“I love Obama! So were should I go. New York? California or Florida? Hmmmmmmm…..How much of my 100 million are each of these states going to take?”…Lebron James
Caper29 on July 10, 2010 at 1:28 PM
Only because it is in Ohio.
Wade on July 10, 2010 at 1:35 PM
I wanted to watch baseball highlights for the last 3 days but we’re still involved in this exhibition of colossal stupidity that ESPN just won’t let die…
moc23 on July 10, 2010 at 1:44 PM
All the little kids growin’ up on the skids are goin’
Cleveland sucks! Cleveland sucks!
Or… Lebron could sing “Tax Man”.
Mojave Mark on July 10, 2010 at 1:50 PM
I don’t give a farkle about basketball but the truth is the Cleveland team would have traded La Bron in a heartbeat if they thought they could do better, cheaper.
That’s not betrayal but La Bron expanding his horizons, is?
I don’t think so.
Speakup on July 10, 2010 at 2:04 PM
LeBron James took the chance to play with Wade and Bosh on what is looking like the team to beat over the next few years. I am not a NBA fan but I understand the desire to win championships, every person wants to be a winner and athletes are even more competitive then average. My thoughts are good luck and shoot for your dreams
JKotthoff on July 10, 2010 at 2:09 PM
The real problem is the way LeBron ended the relationship, not the fact he ended it. LeBron had no intention of returning to Cleveland and, rather than just say that to the Cavs up front, he strung them along and then did his “screw you Cleveland” infomercial on ESPN. As a result, the Cavs ended up not getting any free agents and had to do a bunch of sign & trades to get some draft picks for next season. Cleveland and the Cavs didn’t deserve that, and it was totally unnecessary.
P.S. Ohio’s major structural problem is that it’s a high-tax, union-heavy state, which scared away new industries. So, as the big steel mills and car plants and tire factories and so forth leave, it’s harder and harder to replace those jobs. Meanwhile, all your talented folks are leaving the state left and right… It’s a real death spiral.
Outlander on July 10, 2010 at 2:22 PM
Being born and raised in Cleveland (before my parents like many other up and left when I was in 4th grade to the suburbs) I am a huge fan of the Reason Saves Cleveland series. Nothing is exaggerated about what they say about the city! It has been controlled by the statists for far too long!
RightXBrigade on July 10, 2010 at 2:44 PM
Miami with a 15% income tax still wins out over Cleveland with a 0% income tax.
angryed on July 10, 2010 at 2:58 PM
Ohio Democrats have been driving business out of the state for years, most recently NCR (21,000 employees) a highly philanthropic company that was in Dayton, Ohio since 1884.
VastRightWingConspirator on July 10, 2010 at 3:10 PM
The Cavs owner is hilarious.
Oh, and today is a great day! Only happens once a year, folks!
v
July 10 on July 10, 2010 at 3:18 PM
He’s no dummy!!!!!!!!
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/07/09/did-saving-25-million-taxes-fuel-lebron-james-miami-heat-pick/
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on July 10, 2010 at 3:20 PM
Its nice to ‘meet’ another non-Kucinich fan from our district. I didn’t know there were many of us out there! We’ll have to meet up sometime.
Katec on July 10, 2010 at 3:31 PM
Hastily made Cleveland tourism video. Check out the end.
(Like Lebron, I’m a Cleveland emigre.)
beancounter on July 10, 2010 at 4:10 PM
Rush in FL? I thought Geddy Lee and the boys live in Canada…
Wolftech on July 10, 2010 at 5:08 PM
No kidding. You can’t legislate the weather. Time was, most jobs were where they were by virtue of what they were: Steel, cars, farms, etc., being prime examples. Now that it’s no longer the case, people find that they’d rather be where it’s pleasant to live. And that has a lot more to do with weather, community, economy, industry, nature, and neighborhood than with tax structure, though taxes aren’t insignificant in the overall equation. I sincerely doubt a basketball player is going to turn down a better offer due to state tax laws. The 6% top marginal rate is the least of his financial concerns.
calbear on July 10, 2010 at 7:00 PM
That is a despicable lie about Kobe and had no place in this discussion. You were not a party to what happened in Colorado, nor do you have all the facts. The case was dropped because the woman in question had told obvious lies as well as having had the DNA of two other men on her panties. There was no reason to bring Kobe into the discussion, nor to use that lie about him in that way.
He made a huge mistake, cheating on his wife and having sex with an unstable woman and paid a dear price for it, but he did not rape her, so let it go.
Jvette on July 10, 2010 at 10:10 PM
Go Oranje!!!
missl on July 10, 2010 at 10:20 PM
I don’t blame LeBron for leaving, I also don’t blame CLE for reacting the way it did.
LeBron made it all about him, with his hour plus special signing show. A week earlier he had said CLE had the edge – and then he publicly crushed the fans.
The reaction by the CLE owner was a little ridiculous. His letter and personally guarantee he and the Cavs would win a championship before LeBron is a joke. A desperate attempt at a ‘jinx’ legacy when the Cavs are devastated and the Heat look like immediate contenders with half a team signed.
The team is devastated. They lose LeBron and get nothing back. No picks, no players. Instant rebuild mode after the draft and the top 4 FA’s are signed. You can’t do that to your hometown team – especially when it looks like Wade, LeBron and Bosh sort of planned this out a while ago and Miami conveniently had no players and the ability to do this.
I’d burn his jersey too. That was a cold and destructive thing to do to the Cavs.
Mr Purple on July 11, 2010 at 4:21 AM
Here in Cleveland we don’t have wildfires, mud-slides, hurricanes, earthquakes, oil spill beaches, volcanic ash, troops on the border, drug cartel kidnappings, etc.
We have democrats instead.
Buck Turgidson on July 11, 2010 at 10:20 AM
Reason TV’s analysis is undermined by the fact that Lebron took a paycut to go to Miami – he has already left a lot of money on the table inorder to escape Cleveland – more than what he would save by moving to Florida.
Besides, what does Reason TV have to say about the fact that Kobe is still playing for L.A – the California income tax rate is pretty big especially for some one who earns the kind of money he does.
LeBron is DESPERATE to win a title any way possible – he just headed to a city with an awesome night life, a franchise which has Wade and Bosh – does Reason TV even bring these things up ?
Look, high taxes are job killers – every one knows that. But this was not a great example and Lebron left for reasons which had less to do with money and more to do with winning a title at a discounted salary.
nagee76 on July 11, 2010 at 12:25 PM
I don’t get the hate on ESPN. Any network would have jumped to have the exclusive reveal, and if you think, in this economy, that Foxnews or CNN would have been all “oh my heavens no!” to lebron, then you’re just kidding yourself.
triple on July 11, 2010 at 12:49 PM
So you reject 5 of the most boring sports in the world while embracing the number one most boring sport in the world? That makes about as much sense as pissing in the wind. You wouldn’t happen to be VP of the USA, would you?
xblade on July 11, 2010 at 5:02 PM