Word: caps
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...crafted work of compromise, and Wednesday McCain is scheduled to meet with the new President in an attempt to push campaign finance to the top of the administration's agenda. The bill bans soft money (unregulated funds given to political parties for nebulous "party building" purposes) but raises the cap on cumulative individual contributions to all federal candidates and parties to $30,000 (was $25,000). The legislation also doubles the amount (to $10,000) that individual contributors can give to state party committees for use in federal elections. And as a nod to Republicans wary of the bill...
...make clear another point about salary caps: they do not necessarily guarantee parity. While spending limits may seem to put all teams on an even plane, it has been proven that there is always plenty of wiggle room for the smart teams to use to an unfair advantage. Contracts containing deferred money, for example, allow for softening of the cap. The wealthier teams can still secure the frontline players by simply promising more money at a future date. Take a glance at the NBA. You can count the number of teams who are actually under the cap on one hand...
...even if a salary cap did ensure parity, it does it in the wrong way. That is, it balances the playing field by bringing the better teams down to the lesser teams' level, as opposed to the other way around. A salary cap doesn't give the poorer teams any more money to play with. Assuming they are spending as much as they possibly can already, their payrolls will stay virtually the same. Thus, a spending cap does nothing to make the Minnesota Twins any better; it serves only to make them less worse relative to the rest...
...make some improvements to baseball, just don't impose a salary cap. For even in the absence of any substantive solutions, you should never underestimate the power of owners' greed as a restraint on limitless spending. As rich as the Yankees are, George Steinbrenner will forever be more inclined to pocket some profits before he spends everything he has on player payroll. Don't believe me? Why, then, did Georgie Porgie not go after Manny this winter? If New York wanted him, he was theirs for the taking. And it's not as if the Yankees couldn't afford both...
Sure, the collective bargaining agreement is set to expire soon. Yes, change is needed. And revenue sharing is one avenue that should definitely be explored. But please God, do not let baseball impose a salary cap on itself...