Spectators often throw their hats onto the ice to celebrate a “hat trick.”
BY KEN SHAIN
Nearly every Minnesotan knows that a hat trick occurs when a hockey player scores 3 goals in one game. It is widely celebrated, especially when the goals are scored in each of the three periods. Though the term originated in 19th century cricket matches, it is now broadly applied to any activity in which three goals are achieved in a single engagement. Here in Minnesota, we are on the verge of scoring, perhaps, the most significant hat trick in the history of our nation. Given its scope, I call it the “Save the World Hat Trick.”
With the pending sale of Glen Taylor’s share in the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx to a group of private investors — that includes current owners Alex Rodriquez, Mark Lore and oligarch and political spoiler Michael Bloomberg — the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota may miss yet another chance to capture a sustainable, self-renewing revenue generator with which to fund schools, roads, and public safety services — without having to rely on property taxes in favor of making billionaires wealthier. In addition, it also misses another chance to truly resolve the inequities in our city resulting from years of redlining and covenant mortgages in favor of even more commercial symbolism, exhorting all demographics to the market. Given the state’s budget surplus, acquiring the Timberwolves and the Lynx would have been an easy acquisition and resulted in self-sufficiency of public services, quality of education, lower taxes, and community happiness unparalleled in modern history. Spread equitably, we could even outscore the beast of racism, forever haunting our town since its founding.
The hat trick I am talking about is pro-sports team municipalization, and it solves all three of the abovementioned problems. But only if we score all three goals in the exercise. The city of Green Bay, Wisconsin scored two goals when it municipalized its football team a century ago and took it public so that everyone can own a share. Now, there are 537,460 stockholders on the books with rules in place prohibiting anyone from owning more than 200,000 shares. Such a plan has enabled the team to stay in its hometown, and its hometown to remain solvent from the beginning, able to resist any owner demands for public amenities under threat of moving the team to a new location. If you want to know where Packer loyalty and continued championship teams comes from, look no further than the loyalty the team shows the town. But sadly, despite great teams in well run cities among nations of every size around the world also following this practice, Green Bay — with a population of 107,395 — is the only city in the entire United States that enjoys this distinction. Pete Rozelle, former NFL commissioner, saw this as a threat and made sure it doesn’t happen again by inserting prohibitions into the NFL charter against owners selling their teams to public jurisdictions, closing their ranks to all but fellow oligarchs.
Well, we may have missed using our surplus to buy the Timberwolves and Lynx, but we may have another chance. The Minnesota Twins are now up for sale! The Pohlad family, long reported for its benevolent stewardship and generosity with the city that hosts their team, is now willing to sell it. As Minnesotans, we should demand that the state of Minnesota use its vaunted budget surplus so its municipalities can begin to reap the benefits of community control. Such a possibility would do more for our state and its citizens than a tax rebate, especially given the value we get for the transaction.
What sets this plan apart from the Green Bay experience, what makes it a hat trick, is that it can also be used to finally settle the issue of reparations as well. By taking the team public, our American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) neighbors and families would each receive stock in the public offering at par value. Normally this means pennies on the dollar, and will result in generational wealth for families hitherto shut out of the accumulation process. The numbers are there, the need is there, even the logic is there, only the awareness of the possibility lags.
What is even more amazing, is that our own Governor Walz told me personally that he thought it was an interesting idea. He was the ONLY candidate at Education Minnesota’s Gubernatorial Candidates Forum in 2018 who showed an interest — out of the 13 candidates to whom I introduced the concept to — and handed me business his card as he introduced me to his campaign and policy aide for follow up. Even though I have followed up periodically, without a response, given the state of things these days, perhaps now is a far better time. Please write him and let him know!
Save the world hat trick, so efficient, even DOGE should know!
