The Greediest People on Earth

   Surely, the National Football League owners, and would-be owners, are the greediest, and crassest, of all the greedy people spawned by late-stage capitalism.

   Hardly anyone in Southern California but a handful of very rich men wants a new NFL team in L.A., but the very rich men, all of whom already have more money than they can count, and the NFL owners want California taxpayers to pay some of their costs, to insure that they make even more money than they otherwise would.

   By now, everyone knows that the supposed benefits an NFL franchise brings to a city are a crock. To their credit, most members of the L.A. City Council and Mayor Dick Riordan saw the light a while ago and will not put any city revenue into the venture.

   But, in his continuing effort to prove that he is Pete Wilson, Governor Grey Davis sent a henchman to Chicago to offer NFL owners a $150 million contribution of public money to build parking structures in Exposition Park.

   On hearing the offer, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said, "...the current levels of public money being discussed, such as the public bonding with a private payback are not sufficient." Would-be team owner Eli Broad, a billionaire, said, "I believe public entities should have the responsibility for site work..." Another would-be team owner, Mike Ovitz, many times a millionaire, said, "The state is going to have to bring something to the table."

   Why?

   Why should an L.A. minister, a San Francisco saleswoman and/or a Petaluma lawyer help some very rich men get richer?

   And why should these same very rich men be allowed to tart up the state-owned Coliseum, one of L.A.’s most elegant and famous landmarks?

   And if the Governor has $150 million to invest in South Central Los Angeles, shouldn’t he invest it decent housing for South Central residents rather than parking structures?