Political activist and consumer crusader Ralph Nader has weighed in on the sin tax issue in Cuyahoga County. You probably won't be surprised to know that he's against it.

Nader writes on his blog in a post titled

that a "yes" vote Tuesday on

to extend the Sin Tax to fund Cleveland's professional sports venues "will reaffirm taxpayer servitude to arrogant corporatists and their cruel, twisted mistreatment of that struggling city."

He describes Cleveland as "a deindustrialized, unfairly poor metropolis"

"The super-rich sports owners, or corporate welfare kings, know 'sin taxes' help get more votes for their stadiums. Issue 7 is linked to a 20-year sin tax on alcohol and cigarettes which will be paid by Cuyahoga County residents, totaling between $250 to $350 million," he writes. "The money will go to 'constructing, renovating, improving, or repairing spectator sports facilities.' You can be sure the money will

not

be going to neighborhood sports programs or playgrounds, otherwise known as participatory sports."

He accused team owners of preying on fan loyalty.

"Big-time sports bosses know that the trump card that enables them to continue with their freeloading ways as crony capitalists is to exploit the spectator joy that comes from being part of a local fan base. The subtext of these demands takes away that joy from those TV watching fans by relocating to another city willing to give away the store. It all reeks of greed, power and extortion.

"Rest assured Clevelanders, the Browns, Indians and Cavaliers are going nowhere. They know how much of the 'store' (over $1 billion since 1990) your politicians have already given them. The sports bosses like to call themselves capitalists. So let them behave like capitalists and invest their own money and no longer dare to turn your tax dollars into their profits."

Supporters of Issue 7 say the sports venues have brought a big return to the region by spurring economic development, and they say the money raised from the pennies per drink and cigarette tax goes toward maintenance of publicly owned facilities, not to team owners.