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Your 100% right, it doesn't matter. What does matter, is paying over $100 to go see a big wooden boat that promotes fairy tales. If you don't have anything better to do with your money, then you must have more of it than I do.
As for the craftsmanship, I am sure it is impeccable. $40 a person impeccable? Not a chance. But hey, if people want to throw away their money, who am I to stop them?
Apparently not enough though, since it is struggling. Any cursory glance at news article regarding the park will show this. Also, there are several articles and videos out there talking about how little it is doing for the town itself. In other words, the people who live there say you are wrong. See? This is just the first thing that popped up. Grant Co. leaders: Ark Encounter doesn't live up to economic promise
Now they are trying to cheat the good people of Kentucky even worse, by selling to a non profit for only $10 (and lying about the lands worth I might add) and trying to skirt taxes. Very Christian thing to do, huh?
All I see there is an outdated opinion piece. How about some actual facts? Here is a more recent article with FACTS showing a definite increase in tourism revenue:
Quote:
Now, some news reports have quoted an individual in Grant County who stated that in the town of Williamstown, the Ark's home base, there hasn't been much tourist activity. Secular media and bloggers pounced on the comment and have used it to try to downplay the Ark’s success. What was not reported, however, is that tourism-related businesses are booming in the rest of Grant County, such as in the city of Dry Ridge. Williamstown has very few services that cater to tourists.
The secular media makes it sound like Ken just lied like a dog to the state of Kentucky about revenue estimates and the state just blindly accepted Ken's proposal based solely on his claims. I find that very hard to believe. The government would have conducted their own research and studies into the economic impacts.
You mean tax loopholes. The ones rich people make sure are in the tax codes so that they can remain rich people. The sort of tax loopholes that cause the poorer people to have to shoulder a disproportionate burden of the tax. But you see, the people of Kentucky were also promised something. They were promised tax revenues and jobs. And what they are going to get is a shut down rapidly deteriorating white elephant. Such is the price of faith, gullibility, and abject stupidity.
So why is the ark failing? From what I hear it is deadly boring. And it isn't just bad science, it is silly science. Anyone teaching their children this level of bogus science is consigning them to working at McDonald's, or as a waitress their entire lives. Because high paying tech companies want employees with a background in ACTUAL science.
And exactly how is the ark failing if it is bringing in big crowds? Here is a review from yesterday:
Quote:
Beautiful but CROWDED
Everything was beautiful, fascinating and clean. Trams were super fast, parking was fast and easy. I would have given 5 stars, but the crowds of people were very frustrating. You couldn't get close to all the plaques and signs because of all the people!! I would like to go back during off season and spend all day there without having to fight the crowds
Her biggest complaint was the crowds! I think the reality is atheists and secularists hate this park only as an extension of their own self denial of hatred against Christianity.
Her biggest complaint was the crowds! I think the reality is atheists and secularists hate this park only as an extension of their own self denial of hatred against Christianity.
Her biggest complaint was the crowds! I think the reality is atheists and secularists hate this park only as an extension of their own self denial of hatred against Christianity.
And I concur, the only complaint I had was the crowds. But's that unavoidable. Peace
All I see there is an outdated opinion piece. How about some actual facts? Here is a more recent article with FACTS showing a definite increase in tourism revenue:
The secular media makes it sound like Ken just lied like a dog to the state of Kentucky about revenue estimates and the state just blindly accepted Ken's proposal based solely on his claims. I find that very hard to believe. The government would have conducted their own research and studies into the economic impacts.
So, you cite as 'evidence' a document that is written by the people who created the Ark Encounter, and take that as undeniable proof of success? Talk about confirmation bias. That's like the big tobacco companies saying that their products aren't conclusively linked to higher rates of lung cancer.
I'll post my own link, which you will, most likely, dismiss and ignore. First, let's look at some of Ham's carefully-worded claims:
“No money will be taken out of the state’s budget to fund the Ark.”
The reality:
Quote:
According to Section VIII of the Memorandum of Agreement, in addition to the $62 million, the city and county agreed to other incentives (courtesy of local taxpayers):
$175,000 would be given to Ark Encounter to reimburse the amount they felt the property was overvalued.
$19,000 would go to Ark Encounter’s real estate agent, representing 2% of the total purchase price of the land.
98 acres of Grant County land would be sold to Ark Encounter for $1 (yes, one dollar).
Public funds, coming from the taxpayers. That's most definitely part of the state's budget.
The claim:
Quote:
“No unwilling taxpayer will subsidize the Ark.”
Amazingly, this is actually true -- but purely on a technical level:
Quote:
Crosswater Canyon, controlled by Answers in Genesis, is a non-profit that owns and operates two for-profit companies, Creation Museum, LLC and Ark Encounter, LLC. All donations for the project come in through the non-profit Crosswater Canyon, but all the tax incentives are applied to the for-profit Ark Encounter, LLC.
The literal Ark itself is the only non-profit portion of the attraction. So all the tax deductible donations people make are applied to the construction of the Ark, which qualifies as non-profit because it is an “educational tool.”
What we have, in a slippery-slide-y kind of roundabout way, is an admission that no taxpayer will subsidize the Ark itself (i.e, the actual physical object). That much is true -- but only because the Ark is classified as an 'educational tool' and donations to educational tools are tax deductible. In addition, because Crosswater is a non-profit, they don't pay any income taxes on Ark Encounter donations. Think about that for a moment -- the state soaks the non-taxable funds. 'No unwilling taxpayer'? True, but only to a point.
Furthermore, the Ark is funded by a $62 million TIF (Tax Increment Fund). What Ham skates over is that a TIF is granted by the state to encourage revitalization in areas that are considered 'blighted', and if the Ark doesn't meet its projections, Answers in Genesis is off the hook in terms of repayment, and all of the responsibility for repayment shifts to the taxpayers and investors.
Additionally, that under the terms of the TIF, 75% of the Encounter's tax revenue that would go back to the community (thus providing a net gain to the state and local government, which was the hope of the state) is instead used to pay the bonds Ham was issued under the TIF to get the whole thing going.
Finally, that 'no unwilling taxpayer will subsidize the Ark' claim doesn't cover the parking areas -- which are not, in any way, an educational tool and thus not tax-deductible. That means that Ham is free to charge for parking and keep every single cent, once again (albeit indirectly) using taxpayers to fund the Ark Encounter.
I'm more than willing to give Ham the benefit of the doubt. I couldn't disagree more with his worldview, and I have lingering questions about his business ethics, but I sincerely don't have any wish to see the ark 'go under', as it were; that's just mean-spirited and petty, and bankruptcy is messy, painful and just no fun. Nor is my objection to the Ark Encounter religious in nature (unlike what Jeffbase and his friends would have us assume). It's how Ham has (perhaps unknowingly -- that's the 'benefit of the doubt' popping up again) misrepresented his project's funding sources with a string of half-truths, and managed to completely absolve himself of any financial liability (via the TIF) in the process.
Regardless of what he claims, he's put it all on the taxpayers -- and if the Ark Encounter goes belly-up, he gets to walk away from the wreckage smelling like a rose, leaving the state holding the bag.
Last edited by FredNotBob; 07-18-2017 at 09:18 PM..
Surprise, surprise, the fundie sees no problems with the folks at the ark encounter screwing the people of Kentucky. Cheat the government for Jesus, huh?
There's a reason they're called 'Liars for Jesus'.
So, you cite as 'evidence' a document that is written by the people who created the Ark Encounter, and take that as undeniable proof of success? Talk about confirmation bias. That's like the big tobacco companies saying that their products aren't conclusively linked to higher rates of lung cancer.
I'll post my own link, which you will, most likely, dismiss and ignore. First, let's look at some of Ham's carefully-worded claims:
And in return, you post an old link from what appears to be an atheist website. Now, they wouldn't be just a tad wee bit bias, would they? Regardless if you completely dismiss my source or not, my article contained facts showing the actual tourism figures in Grant County for 2016. All your article does is gripe and complain about the way the Ark project was funded.
Quote:
What we have, in a slippery-slide-y kind of roundabout way, is an admission that no taxpayer will subsidize the Ark itself (i.e, the actual physical object). That much is true -- but only because the Ark is classified as an 'educational tool' and donations to educational tools are tax deductible. In addition, because Crosswater is a non-profit, they don't pay any income taxes on Ark Encounter donations. Think about that for a moment -- the state soaks the non-taxable funds. 'No unwilling taxpayer'? True, but only to a point.
Furthermore, the Ark is funded by a $62 million TIF (Tax Increment Fund). What Ham skates over is that a TIF is granted by the state to encourage revitalization in areas that are considered 'blighted', and if the Ark doesn't meet its projections, Answers in Genesis is off the hook in terms of repayment, and all of the responsibility for repayment shifts to the taxpayers and investors.
Additionally, that under the terms of the TIF, 75% of the Encounter's tax revenue that would go back to the community (thus providing a net gain to the state and local government, which was the hope of the state) is instead used to pay the bonds Ham was issued under the TIF to get the whole thing going.
And the Ark Encounter has a great chance of revitalization the area which from what I read contained a dying city facing bankruptcy. Tourism is way up and those tourists are staying in nearby hotels and restaurants. There is a need for improvement with better signage and directions. Christian themed attractions have an enormous potential to revitalize a region. Just look at Branson, once a nothing small town in the Ozarks that is now a hotbed of tourism with several Christian themed attractions. But I'm sure that great success didn't happen overnight.
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