Corporate Sponsorships of City Property is an Idea; Not A Great Idea, But an Idea

As thereported, the Baltimore City Council had a hearing on Tuesday on Council President Bernard "Jack" Young's idea to allow corporate sponsorships of city property.

Hey, it's an idea.  It's not a very good idea nor is it a very big idea, but it is an idea.

Selling the naming rights to famous landmarks around the city or plastering corporate logos on our police cars may bring in some money, but it won't be a large amount of revenue and, as Councilman James Kraft alluded to, it won't be a steady stream of cash.  More importantly, it won't stop the decline of our city.

I understand the city is short on funds.  But our lack of money is only a symptom of our deeper problems, not the cause. 

We are facing some very serious issues in this town.  We live in a very violent city, despite falling crime rates; many of our neighborhoods are filthy and rat infested, despite the annual city wide spring clean up; many of our children are having a very difficult time in school,  despite rising test scores; and, every year, we lose more residents. 

Baltimore City needs some good ideas to address these problems.  We need some big thinkers.  We need elected officials with some fire in their bellies. 

Certainly none of the ills inflicting our city will be solved overnight or by the wave of magic wand.  But, on the other hand, we aren't going to solve them by holding hearings on how we can sell the naming rights to city property to the highest corporate bidders.