If you ran the county, what would you buy for $400 million?

The Commissioners want to raise at least $400 million (by spending upwards of $700 million in sales taxes on bond payments over the next thirty years) to buy a new public Convention Center.

The $400 million is not an actual investment which the Commissioners expect to earn back, e.g. through rental revenue. It’s a straight-up expenditure. The “return” it’s supposed to produce is private-sector jobs and taxes, in hotels, restaurants, the Medical Mart, etc.

So: If you were going to raise and spend $400 million in public money to spur private economic activity in Cuyahoga County, would you buy a Convention Center?

Here are a few alternatives to consider:

• One Convention Center @ $400 million, or

• 400 megawatts of utility-scale wind generators (with no debt to pay off, so the power would be very cheap)
• Full-ride tuition at Cleveland State for more than ten thousand county residents
• 8,000 street miles of optical fiber at an average cost of $50,000 per mile (1,300 miles would cover the entire city of Cleveland)
• Major weatherization and furnace replacement for 60,000 to 80,000 homes. (While you’re at it, you could probably throw in lead paint abatement.)

That’s just off the top of my head. What’s your $400 million idea?

Make a wish.