According to an article in the Tampa Bay Times, taxpayers were promised they wouldn't have to pay for the Republican National Committee's Republican Party party held at Tropicana Field, above, on the Sunday before the Republican National Convention. Now it appears that St. Petersburg taxpayers (across Tampa Bay from Tampa) may be on the hook for nearly $600,000 to cover some of the expenses of the party. The city was already $5.2 million over budget.
One of the themes of the convention – "we built that" – attempts to convey the argument that entrepreneurs and business people don't rely on government. The assertion increasingly wears thin.