No Superbowl?
(that's only the tip of the iceberg)
The Associated Press reports Senator Tom Coburn, a lame duck Republican from Oklahoma, blocked a bill that would have renewed a government program credited with reviving the market for insurance against terrorist strikes after the Sept. 11 attacks.
This might mean the Super Bowl could be cancelled, but the effects are larger than the shared media experience and the loss of ad revenues. Not to mention the billions lost because of the cancelled Super Bowl parties.
The costs would shift entirely to the private sector. Especially hard hit will be companies in construction, real estate, hospitality and major sports leagues, which face crippling insurance costs and spiraling rates as the program lapses.
Increased insurance costs will be passed on directly to the consumer rather than spreading the costs through a government subsidy. Since consumers may not be willing to pay the increased costs...The the shift in expenses will drive some of the affected companies out of businesses and result in job losses. The program provides a government backstop for insurance companies in the event of catastrophic losses, and had widespread support from business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Coburn objects to the government back subsidy as a moneymaker for the insurance companies to the tune of $40 billion over the past 12 years.
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