Regarding "investing" our tax dollars in the New Orleans Saints ("IndBox: Open Benson's Books," Jan. 12), most people agree that Louisiana is one of the poorest states in the U.S. We're certainly the poorest state with an NFL franchise.
It's becoming evident that Louisiana may no longer have what it takes to feasibly sustain a franchise in today's NFL. We certainly can't justify one of the poorest states in the nation making multimillion-dollar welfare payments to one of the richest men in the state.
We're the only state directly subsidizing an NFL franchise.
It doesn't matter whether or not the Saints allow their books to be examined by the state. If the Saints can't be profitable without our tax dollars, they shouldn't be in Louisiana.
Though some otherwise reputable economists may contend that the Saints return more money than they receive, most who say this (if not all) are in some manner beholden to the Saints, and they ignore the lost opportunities costs of the forfeited tax dollars. In addition, for every one of their economists, there is another that would say just the opposite. It certainly isn't a slam dunk that the city or the state gets a net benefit from the Saints being in New Orleans.
Even if it could be proven that New Orleans and Louisiana get a net benefit from the Saints, it would still be immoral to take money by force from you and me to give to them.
Twenty-eight other states are doing just fine without the NFL. Louisiana can do without the NFL as well.