Toronto has just elected a right leaning (okay, right falling over) mayor and there has been a lot of hand wringing about the types of spending cuts to be enacted.One of them is whether city taxes should continue to be used to fund various community parades.
Most new city councillors won't touch this one with a ten foot pole.
My lonely position is that I'd prefer to have my taxes used for police, sewer, garbage collection, water, fire halls, etc. But that's just me. Apparently.
If someone wants to have a parade, great. But why should I have to pay for it?
Supporters say Urban, you are very short sighted - these parades generate substantial economic benefits for the city. Thus funding is a good investment.
Well here's an idea.
Parade organizers actually go to all the recipients of these fantastic benefits and say, invest a little in our parade and you will make a bundle.
Let's do the math.
Pride Parade
Government funding; ~$500,000.
Benefits that this parade brings in; ~100 million dollars.
Let's say the benefactors (restaurants, hotels, bars, taxi's, retailers, the arts, etc. etc. etc.) number ~10,000.
So....you go to each benefactor (or a business association) and say, for a $50 sponsorship, you will receive $10,000 in additional revenue.
A no brainer. Every business in the world would make that investment.
Carabana
Funding; ~$500,000.
Benefits; ~300 million dollars.
Let's say there are more benefactors (because Carabana is all over the city. Say ~20,000.
So....a $25 sponsorship will earn you $15,000 in additional revenue. Even a better deal!
So.....no need for me to fund your parade
Or Yours
Or Yours
Problem solved.You just need to get off your be-hinds and get some corporate sponsors. Is that really such a radical idea?
Oops - Apology.As part of the usual extensive research done for this rant, I discovered that one parade is way ahead of me.
The Toronto St Paddy's Day parade receives no government funding of any type. They, the crazy idiots, rely solely on corporate sponsors.
Way to go you drunken leprechauns! Oops, another apology.
{Ed note: the opinions expressed here are obviously whacko!]
6 comments:
I kind of liked the pictures of the trees changing colour.
... And you know what follows at the end of the St. Paddy Parade? Not Santa...No not a Miss Transvestite 2010... a BIG bloody Guiness! OK class dismissed now go drink one.
as usual, Gord "nails" it
ok, not bad, but how are you going to collect the $25 or $50 from all the folks who would benefit? Who will collect? Who will pay the collectors? If it's parade people collecting for free, how/why would anyone cough up the dough?
I like the Irish sponsored method, and nothing tops it all off like "a BIG bloody Guiness!!"
Good comments. Just an idea....
I'd probably get the sponsors however the Irish did it. Or as mentioned, maybe through a business association, if their members are the ones getting all the bennies.
And I'd get that BIG bloody Guiness any way I could!
Perhaps you could think about how long the Irish have had their way vs the much less well accepted gay and black communities - how easy do you think it would be to get corporate sponsorships? Or easy to collect the dribs and drabs without falling into major financial management issues? It's like trying to get the suburbs of Toronto to fund Toronto parks and bikeways. Yeah, they might use them and benefit from lower levels of pollution coming at them but would they buy that?
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