Raise the Hammer

Gadzooks. This tiresome stadium debate is distracting us from doing what matters - making innovative jobs. The writer is a bit dense in not understanding his own family and what Ronsentraub/Marshall's idea applies to. For heaven's sake, his sisINlaw left because there was no accounting work. She would only have stayed for an accounting job. Do you really think a business needing accountants (such as the insurance head office she ended up at)will be arriving any time soon? Our dismal situation is driving such businesses out, leaving public facilities behind that do not pay municipal taxes.

The Marshall Space thing applies perfectly to Waterloo and not to Hamilton at all. They already have patents, innovation, technology, young people and money, lots of it. They can build a nice large covered facility, possibly for both CFL and NHL teams (cool innovation right there), with the condos etc. using pocket change from RIMM's sports-fanatic owner. Hamilton cannot compete with that and should not waste its time trying. Not to mention the huge debt tsunami about to hit profligate schemes such as this.

Instead of daydreaming such fantasies, Hamiltonians should go out to their garages and invent something useful or make a youtube movie or a hundred other possibilities. That's a daydream worth working on.

However, for such a thing to be able to grow here in town, Hamiltonians will have to get a lot better at being more open to actual local people with sometimes wacky ideas, not just suits from the sanctified Innovation Center. Hamiltonians are great at pooh-poohing home-grown ideas, or throwing the regulatory book at them and not financing anything but the worst investment, sprawl. Hamilton is not really open for business, even if it says so. We are still too self satisfied to change.

Hamilton will not be able to wrap its mind around this needed mind-adjustment until insane stadia-dreams are relegated to the outhouse where they belong. And, imo, the Spectator manipulation machine shuts down.

Comment edited by bobinnes on 2010-11-02 20:39:48