Letters: Real victims of NBA lockout aren't on the court

NOW THAT the National Basketball Association owners and players have ended their lockout - and agreed how best to divvy up their millions in profits from sky-high ticket and concession prices - fans can breathe easy because the season can finally get under way.

In announcing their settlement, representatives for the owners and players said there was an urgency to end the lockout because "others depend on us."

The "others" they were supposedly referring to were the regular working people - the ushers, security guards, janitors, concession employees and parking attendants who work throughout the league for an average of $11 an hour. Waiters and support staff in local restaurants who cater to NBA sports fans on game nights can also be included in this group.

I was never a fan of trickle-down economics because of its basic unfairness, unpredictability and the potential economic harm to millions of Americans whose lives would be dictated by the financial decisions of a few.

The NBA lockout is a classic example of the damage to real people with real families when the revenue stream is controlled - and, in this case, interrupted - by a few at the top of the economic ladder for their own self-interest.

When you're trying to make ends meet - with kids to feed and bills to pay - every dollar counts. In Philadelphia, there are an estimated 600 full- and part-time employees who work at the Wells Fargo Center to ensure that the Sixers' games go off without a hitch.

All 600 of these NBA support workers were punished financially by the 149-day NBA lockout. Few if any of these employees had the financial wherewithal to weather the 149-day lockout - never mind absorb the financial loss that they will never be able to recoup. They and their kids just did without - or put off paying an overdue bill with money that was now needed for something more urgent.

Many of these multimillionaire NBA players come from similar backgrounds and neighborhoods, throughout the country, as the workers and families who depend on them to help make ends meet in their own lives.

I wonder if annual pay raises and pensions for all the ushers, security guards, janitors, concession employees and parking attendants who work all the NBA games throughout the league were part of the owner-player negotiations and eventual settlement.

Things are tough enough right now, as the economy continues to struggle and jobs are still hard to find. Those at the top of the economic ladder should be mindful of the impact of their actions.

And that goes for Wall Street as well as the NBA.

James F. Kenney

City councilman at large