In this opinion piece, author, Nick Gillespie, discusses how it is a waste of money for citizens to pay for National Football League (NFL) teams instead of for actual government needs. Gillespie argues that taxpayer money should be spent on actual government problems, and not huge industries like NFL teams. In this article, Gillespie tries to appeal to the reader's logos by using shocking statistics that will make the average taxpayer upset with the government's allotment of money. Nick Gillespie is the editor in chief of Reason.com and the co-author of The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America. In the article, Gillespie starts by showing the general public how the NFL is actually affecting their wallets by giving a statistic. He writes, "Over the 30-year life of the project, the public share of costs will come to $678 million." (par.2) This statistic was very effective as it showed the public how exactly football is effecting them. Instead of just talking about the overall market of the NFL, Gillespie targets how the NFL effects the citizens, and therefore makes a greater impact on the reader. The reader, or taxpayer, by reading this statistic, feels upset that their money is going to something as childish as football. Gillespie makes sure to not anger the reader by bashing football, but instead just talks about how people's money can be used elsewhere for a greater impact. This sensitivity to the reader's probable love for football, makes the logical statistics even more impactful as they aren't muddled by the reader's personal opinions. As a fan of the game, I personally think Gillespie did a great job in this because even though I love football, I saw that the amount of money that is being taken from taxes for football is way too much considering all the other problems society has. For this reason, I think Gillespie made his point clear, and effective because even an advocate of the game like myself could see light in his argument.
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