In the game of subsidies, real priorities come into play

Consider the absurdity of this: At a time when we have more than 700,000 Washingtonians without health insurance, 24 percent of our kids not graduating from high school on time, and more than $38 billion in unfunded transportation projects, we're being asked to give a private group with billions a subsidy so it can pay a handful of guys millions to bounce a ball.

I oppose any effort to dedicate existing King County restaurant and car-rental taxes for yet another publicly-financed professional sports stadium.

This is not to disparage the potential new Sonics ownership group. I have the highest regard for Steve Ballmer and the other investors and their contributions to our community.

What we need to say no to is the National Basketball Association. David Stern and the NBA have a payroll problem, and it should not become the problem of King County's taxpayers.

There is plenty of money in gate and TV revenues for professional sports to pay for themselves. To rent out KeyArena for concerts and other such events costs less than $3 a seat. In other words, when taxpayers are asked to finance the Sonics plan, I believe we're not being asked to pay for the arena, we're being asked to subsidize player payroll.

How can we justify that when the average salary for a starting player in the NBA is more than $5 million a year? By comparison, we pay starting teachers just more than $34,000 a year.

If Microsoft wants a world-class education system in Washington to produce the work force it needs, we have to be able to attract into teaching careers the best and brightest from our top universities.

Just think how successful Microsoft would be in attracting top talent if it could offer only half of what it now pays in starting salaries — more than $80,000 a year. Just imagine how poorly its operating systems would perform with less than the best talent programming them. Education is no different.

Furthermore, taxpayers do not need to subsidize professional sports teams for those teams to be economically viable or for their cities to survive. Los Angeles didn't fall into the ocean when the Rams went to St. Louis, or the Raiders returned to Oakland. And, today, the National Football League is dying to get back into the lucrative L.A. market.

Television revenues dominate professional sports. While an individual team might get by in a smaller venue, the leagues will wither and die if they don't stay in the major markets. It's time the civic leaders in the 20 largest TV markets blocked all professional-sports owners from receiving any revenue breaks for new facilities.

Finally, look for a logical connection between the Sonics and the rental-car and restaurant taxes and you won't find one. The majority of car rentals are from local citizens getting their car repaired, not out-of-staters going to games. My eating out at a restaurant has nothing to do with my interest — or lack thereof — in professional sports.

However, public financing of professional sports never is about logic. At its greediest, it's about blackmail; or, it's about bailouts, in the guise of economic stimulus.

Clearly, the $150 million the potential new Sonics ownership is seeking from the public should be used for more important priorities. If taxpayers want a great investment, education pays a far greater dividend. The economic stimulus for many early childhood education programs is a $15 payout for every dollar invested.

That's what we should be saying yes to.

It's time to focus on our real needs, such as education, transportation, and health care — real priorities that will propel this region to even greater heights.

Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Bellevue, represents the 48th Legislative District. He serves as vice chairman of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.