Shapiro’s Sports Subsidies—and Corporate Welfare—are Bad Bets

Originally published by Reading Eagle.

Gov. Josh Shapiro loves professional sports. In fact, he loves them so much that he made a point of publicly courting LeBron James, floating the Keystone State as the ideal landing spot for the future Hall of Famer.

But the governor’s enthusiasm for sports comes at a price. Shapiro often blurs the line between his roles as a lawmaker and fanboy—so much so that he expects taxpayers to subsidize his passion.

Most recently, the governor eagerly bragged about this year’s NFL draft in Pittsburgh. “Hundreds of thousands of fans and business leaders got to see for themselves all the Steel City has to offer—and $177 MILLION poured into the region as a result,” the governor posted on X.

Pennsylvania taxpayers underwrote this event to the tune of $19 million, so, on paper, this seems like a good return on investment.  There’s one problem, though: He can’t prove these numbers.

Read more at Reading Eagle.