Throw a Billion Dollars from the Helicopter

Column on new documentary, trailer below

The movie's title comes from the University of Chicago economist Allen Sanderson, a longtime critic of subsidized stadiums (and a one-time Reason contributor). Rather than spending massive amounts on a stadium deal to keep a team in town, Sanderson says you'd get a bigger payoff by taking the money, converting it $20 bills, renting an aircraft, and then throwing "a billion dollars from the helicopter" while hovering over a city.

 

The good news is that publicly financed stadiums and arenas seem to be on the decline. As one economist mentions toward the end of the movie, "Arlington is the old world" when it comes to things. Here's hoping.

Throw A Billion Dollars From The Helicopter from Michael Bertin on Vimeo.