The Almost-Canceled Tour of Missouri Reportedly Generated $38.1 Million This Year

• I'm all in favor of the event continuing - so long as it is privately funded. Again, if individuals and businesses are persuaded that the event will benefit them and their communities, THEY can chip in the extra $1.5 million. The government need not dedicate tax dollars for it. And, as I've pointed out, if individuals and businesses aren't persuaded that profits generated from the Tour are worth an additional investment on their part - then maybe it's really NOT worth it. Oh, and if YOU want to see the Tour continue, YOU can always make your own contribution...

• The added benefit is that a significant amount of that 38 million is spent by people who came to Missouri from other states. While the majority of attendees are from Missouri, most of them went home each night. The ones from other areas stayed multiple days in hotels, ate their meals at local restaurants. Plus, they experienced Missouri and are likely to recommend to friends that they come to Tour of Missouri in 2010, and possibly plan family vacations, resulting in uncounted revenue. Many people think the benefit is directly tied to the 38.1 million, but it isn't. The benefit is everything that happens as a result of the exposure. The people in Europe who come to visit the state because they see it showcased in live video on the web. The people who learn more about the state as a result of the race. The business executive who decides to expand his company into Missouri because of what he experienced when he went to the race. The event Markets the state better than any brochure ever can.

• Let me make sure I understand you... The government is taxing us so that it can spend $1.5 million dollars to ensure that we won't have to pay so much in taxes? That's Orwellian. Here's a better idea: Just lower taxes! If the government lowered taxes on citizens like you and me, we would have more money to spend. If the government cut taxes on businesses, they would be able either to charge lower prices (allowing us to get more bang for our bucks) or to create more jobs for people like you and me. It would even allow the businesses that believe themselves most likely to profit from those subsidies to choose whether or not the investment is truly worth it, instead of relying on people in Jefferson City to make the decisions for them (and for everyone else in the state).

• Those businesses do pay, in the form of taxes, probably a lot more than $1.5 million worth. And they sponsor it directly besides. The government is simply investing to ensure that there's enough critical mass in the thing to catch the wave. If you get the gist of that mixed metaphor, then you'll understand that this thing is making money so you don't have to pay as much in tax. Cutting that $1.5 million is saving an expense, but slashing state revenue.

• IF the Tour of Missouri did, in fact, generate anything remotely like that kind of money (and that is a HUGE "if"), then WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT NEED TO SPEND $1.5 MILLION DOLLARS TO SUPPORT IT?? If the Tour is truly proving to be such a benefit for Missouri businesses, I should think that those benefitted businesses would happily volunteer to pony up the money themselves instead of requiring taxpayers to foot the bill for their profits. And if those businesses don't care enough about the potential profits they might realize as a result of the Tour's continuation, I hardly think they deserve the public subsidy that has heretofore made them possible.

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