I didn't know whether this belonged in Restaurants and Entertainment. It seems like more of a public affairs item.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090720/NEWS01/307200044&s=d&page=11#pluckcomments

 

LEBANON –  After investing $5.5 million in major renovations to the Golden Lamb Restaurant over the last two years, owners are looking for some financial help from the city.

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The Portman and Mullinger families have incurred extraordinary expenses in making repairs and updates to the historic 200-year-old inn and restaurant, according to Steve Mullinger.

 

For more, click the link

This is amusing.

 

 

The place that gladly stood as a backdrop during the McCain campaign now wants stimulus money from the government under Barack Obama. People should stop eating there.

I would much prefer to see a downtown historic building receive funding, than continue to  put stimulus funds towards suburban freeways.

I don't agree with that at all, ragerunner. No private business should receive bailouts, lest we have completely given up the principles of capitalism and a free market. It's even more ironic that the Golden Lamb was a backdrop for the McCain campaign that railed against these inherent socialist-principles, and against an owner that was strongly against President Obama.

"public business" ==> You meant "private business", right?

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

The comments in the article are amusing. The few who support this act like the owners performed an act of philanthropy by buying and restoring the hotel.

Er, yes. Thanks.

http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/oxford-news/golden-lamb-operator-retracts-request-for-assistance-213841.html

 

Steve Mullinger, owner of the Golden Lamb restaurant, appeared before Lebanon City Council Monday, July 20 to “ask what kind of help could be available to (his) business.”

File photo Steve Mullinger, owner of the Golden Lamb restaurant, appeared before Lebanon City Council Monday, July 20 to “ask what kind of help could be available to (his) business.”

 

A day after requesting economic aid from the city of Lebanon, the operator of the Golden Lamb has retracted his request.

 

In a release, the historical restaurant and inn operator Steve Mullinger said, “...(G)iven the economy and the fiscal pressures on the city, the Golden Lamb has determined it will not be seeking any economic development incentives at this time. We have asked the topic not be on the agenda at the Aug. 4 Lebanon City Council meeting.”

 

I'm betting that the braying in the local blogosphere was too much to deal with. There's absolutely no way to spin the story positively.

This is amusing.

 

 

The place that gladly stood as a backdrop during the McCain campaign now wants stimulus money from the government under Barack Obama. People should stop eating there.

 

Oh right, I forgot, stimulus funds are only rewards for Obama supporters. 

 

Yeah, all the blogosphere can stop eating there, see if they care.  The place is amazing.

 

I had a post in the "Cincinnati restaraunts" thread about how this was nothing but a business/politics move that is seen all the time now.  It's a reaction to the fact that the government is giving away handouts.

I'm just saying that making a public point of something like this in *these* times has to look terrible for the Golden Lamb's owners, and that is not a good thing considering that goodwill fuels a place like this. Lebanon wraps itself in revolutionary era patriotism and is an incredibly conservative community. The blogosphere is a good barometer of the attitude of average people toward this.

 

Plus the political risk to Senator Portman in the next campaign - having the family name associated with a "stimulus".

 

The owners are probably thinking "whoops, we f*cked up."

^ The whole "bailout" thing was a lame label put on it by bloggers, anyways.  They asked the city for tax credits, refunds towards utilities, etc.  Goldan Lamb and Lebanon have a long and very friendly history so it's not all that shocking that a local staple would ask the local government for help sometimes. 

  "No private business should receive bailouts, lest we have completely given up the principles of capitalism and a free market."

 

  We gave up the principles of a free market a long time ago.

"No private business should receive bailouts, lest we have completely given up the principles of capitalism and a free market."

 

During NY State's big fall in the early 1990's, when old man Cuomo was kicked out and replaced by Pateki as Governor.

 

Lots of big companies threatened to pull out of the state....NYC firms threatened to go to NJ.  Upstate firms threated to go west.  Pateki ran around the state handing out tax credits galore, subsidized electric credits, etc to persuade the companies to stay.  Some left, but enough stayed that the state was able to pull out of its free-fall.

 

In no way do I agree with giving such credits and tax breaks.  But then, we should have an agreement between all states and local communities to not give tax breaks.

 

Why should a company get 15 years tax abatements to put up a new building in a corn field, but then an existing place doesn't get any tax breaks.  If the existing place goes out of buisiness, lays off its employees, then any new company taking over the building and re-opening it will probably get tax breaks to hire back the same people.

 

The problem is that there is not a level playing field.