Hopefully, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in Cleveland will help put money into the pockets of waitresses, waiters, some downtown businesses and panhandlers.

Millions and millions of public dollars have gone into the mostly private organization and for its mostly private parties for the elite and politicians.

So one hopes that the ordinary guy gets a little something out of it.

We’ve paid an enormous price so Sen. George Voinovich and his buddy Dick Pogue of Jones-Day can get some face time with the rockers.

Most people don’t know that millions of dollars every year from the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County go to the Rock and Roll Hall & Museum.

Most people don’t know that property taxes from Tower City – ah, yes that name again – are diverted from the city, county, city libraries – most important to the Cleveland School system – to pay for Rock Hall bonds. To give you an idea of how much money is being diverted every year I checked a few years ago. I found that between 1995 and 1998 more than $3 million of Tower City property taxes were diverted from the Cleveland schools to pay for the Rock Hall. The total diverted was $5 million. Such taxes will be paid until 2015.

The money went to pay $39 million in Port Authority bonds for the Rock Hall.

The Rock Hall started as at an estimated $28 million. It ended up costing a cool $93-million plus. Read the rest of this entry »