Pittsburgh should enjoy the Draft, but taxpayers should not be asked to subsidize professional sports facilities. Stadiums are not economic development, and they do not create long-term regional resilience. If the public owns these assets, lease revenue should fully cover operations, maintenance, and capital needs. If that cannot happen, private owners, investors, sponsors, or philanthropies, not taxpayers, should close the gap.

The most important question in public governance is not whether government can pay its bills this year. It is whether government is still strong enough, honest enough, and disciplined enough to avoid solving today by quietly spending tomorrow.