I won’t reiterate the potential problems many others have already highlighted about the Live Nation concert that had been proposed for Payson Park this summer.

My problem is the precedent we set for ourselves when we sell out our public spaces to the highest bidder. There is no shortage of high bidders in our country. We could sell out our national parks and make a bundle from Trump towers, McDonald’s, Live Nation, Disney World, etc. I hope to God I don’t live long enough to see that.

Our precious public spaces in Portland belong to us, the public. They are our treasured places where children play, ride bikes, sled and skate in the winter, hold birthday parties, play sports, picnic. Why can’t we just have these little spaces that some of our beloved ancestors bequeathed to our city for public use? Everything else is up for grabs to the highest bidder throughout the country and our city.

The Bard was right, “all that glitters is not gold.”

Elizabeth Huntley
Portland