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Hiram Foster

Crystal, MN
Commenter for
5 years 27 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 03/28/13 at 07:00 am in response to Vikings stadium buyer’s remorse? I’ve got it bad — do you?

It's possible to think of the NFL in many different ways. In business terms, I think it's helpful to view it as a de facto partnership. And it should be noted that the business they are in is making money by selling rights to their games and associated properties, not winning football games as such. Viewed this way, the Viking's competition isn't the Packers, it's dinner and a night out on the town, or maybe the movies. In other words, other leisure time activities. To the extent we are...

Posted on 03/29/13 at 04:32 pm in response to Vikings stadium buyer’s remorse? I’ve got it bad — do you?

I have no doubt that there will be an effort to put events into the Vikings Stadium to help justify the decision to build it. But the fact is, we have a surplus of stadium space in this community. The Vikings Stadium itself is the third such project we have built in recent years. Now, the new stadium will compete with the Twins and Gopher Stadiums for events with a negative effect on overall revenues.

Without doubt, the Vikings Stadium has always been at the very least, and implied...

Posted on 03/26/13 at 06:17 am in response to Gov. Dayton 'not aware of particulars' of e-pulltab estimates

With the governor's admission that he didn't look at the particulars of the electronic pulltabs proposal, maybe it's time to ask we really had an agreement to build a stadium or whether it was nothing more than an illusory bargain that needs to to be revisited.

Posted on 03/25/13 at 03:25 pm in response to Minnesota accepted gambling industry's e-pulltab estimates

I thought it was interesting that the Strib story didn't quote any legislators. Were they all in hiding? And the bottom line question remains unasked. Is the stadium deal itself in jeopardy?

Posted on 03/22/13 at 03:42 pm in response to Orchestra lockouts: The longer this goes on without music being made, the more devastating it is

When management says that they are not going to arbitration, they aren't making an argument, they are making a statement. From management's perspective, the risk of arbitration is all on one side. If the players lose arbitration, they can always go to another orchestra, if they are dissatisfied with the award. If management loses, the existence of the the Orchestra itself, in their perhaps disputable view, is threatened. It's not as if the Minnesota Orchestra has the same options a pro...

Posted on 03/23/13 at 08:45 am in response to Orchestra lockouts: The longer this goes on without music being made, the more devastating it is

At least part of the problem here is that Orchestra management extended stadium thinking to the orchestra, with an expensive renovation, taking place at perhaps the worst possible time.

Posted on 03/24/13 at 09:46 am in response to Orchestra lockouts: The longer this goes on without music being made, the more devastating it is

A bunch of things are going on here, as is often the case. I think the basic problem of the orchestra is that it's losing it's audience and is finding it difficult to maintain an adequate revenue stream. The reasons for this have to do with the state of the economy, and the ways the economy is changing. It also is the result of management that hasn't been successful in responding to these challenges, for whatever reason. Maybe they are incompetent, or maybe there aren't any good solutions,...

Posted on 03/18/13 at 10:46 am in response to Norm Coleman’s advice to GOP: Be more than anti-government

I always thought Norm made a major error in judgment in switching to the Republican Party. He really allowed short term political advantage to cloud his long term political judgment and he paid the political price for it. It's all very, very sad.

Posted on 03/12/13 at 10:46 am in response to Forcing Ashley Judd-Al Franken comparisons ignores basic politics

Yes, the urge to make these comparisons are an example of false erudition offered by people who don't know anything, in this case, the politics of either Minnesota or Kentucky.

Posted on 03/09/13 at 11:47 am in response to Could any concentration of wealth at the top be too much?

I attribute the rising inequality of income to the declining bargaining power of the poor and the middle class. Managers have learned that they can be wealthier, not by making the pie bigger, but by increasing their portion of it. More specifically, Best Buy has learned that they can be more profitable by closing stores and laying off workers, not opening stores and bringing more and better products to market.