County that shelled out tax rebates for creationist Ken Ham ark museum teedering on bankruptcy
hen Grant County, Kentucky decided to shell out as much as $18 million in tax incentives to creationist Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter museum , it made a bet that it was going to become a major tourist attraction.
Instead, as local news station WKYT reports , the Ark hasn’t brought in nearly as much money to the area’s economy as once projected, and the county itself is now “teetering on bankruptcy.”
“It’s been a great thing but it’s not brought us any money,” Grant County Judge-Executive Steve Wood said while taking a break during a recent budget meeting, according to WKYT.
Grant County faces a major budget shortfall that Wood has said might have to be solved through a combination of a 2% payroll tax and job cuts to the county’s workeNonetheless, Wood tells WKYT that there’s no doubt the Ark has been a major disappointment.
“I was one of those believers that once the Ark was here everything was going to come in,” he said. “But it’s not done it. It’s not done it. I think the Ark’s done well and I’m glad for them on that. But it’s not done us good at all.”
The Ark Encounter, which opened in the summer of 2016, aims to offer a biblical re-interpretation of history in which human-like giants and dinosaurs existed together and regularly engaged in gladiator-style combat tournaments .
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I wonder how many politicians will be voted out in the next election after this fiasco.
What's the fiasco? Had they not given the tax credits and the park set up elsewhere, how would the county be any better off?
Sounds like they have a spending problem. Hopefully they make the big cuts that need to happen.
Nope, sounds like the ''Ark'' has been a really poor investment. But, the world is only 6,000 years old so it still has a chance to start floating.
That's what they get for investing government (the people's) money in a religious project.
Again, they gave tax credits, not outright cash. Had they not given the credits and the ark wasn't built, how would they be better off now? It seems they still benefit by having the employees working and paying taxes, and visitors paying bed taxes at motels. To say the incentives hurt the county it would require that something else would have been developed there without giving as many tax credits.
Why is God letting this happen?
The Dinosaurs ate the gladiators....It was a quick merciful KO.
Lunch was good as well.
The same reason he allows Catholic priests to sexually abuse children, I presume.
Seems like the Evangelicals have a bigger problem with children sexual abuse then the Catholics, according to Franklin Graham's grandson. (professor at Liberty University)
HAHAHAHAHA
I looked up Grant county KY.
Population 24,000. Median family income $38,438.
Small county with a median income that is not that high.
This situation will probably hurt them a lot.
That's what happens when you memorialize the most prolific mass murder in human history.
If God was their creator, the flood was just a late term abortion. So cool, right?
They thought their ship had come in but in fact it has sailed ...
And then sunk...
I knew this was a bad idea, way back when, as the county granted them the tax break. It's a poor county and they rely on tax revenue to keep operating... People go there to visit the ark, they arrive on buses, and make their bus stops in other, nearby cities and towns. I doubt there is a restaurant large enough to feed and deal with a busload of people. Frankly, the tax break was very close to being illegal.