Economist Adam Hoffer on closing La Crosse's libraries and pools, opening a public market, and legalizing sports betting

Covered everything from the possible closure of the north side pool and plans for a public market in La Crosse to legalizing sports betting by bypassing the state Constitution — all in a conversation with economist Dr. Adam Hoffer. We began La Crosse Talk with a piece Hoffer — the director of excise tax policy at the Tax Foundation — recently wrote about “creative destruction,” which examines how major societal shifts reshape the economy — like the move from horse and buggy to cars, or now, from traditional industries to A.I. The second half of the show focused on legalizing sports gambling in Wisconsin but we also related that to two NBA and organized crime scandals, involving rigged poker games and shaving statistics. There's a bill in Wisconsin's Legislature to legalize sports betting statewide by simply hosting the servers at the four tribal sites where gambling's already legal. We ended the conversation with some local topics, including plans to close the north side library, other ideas to build an indoor pool on the outdoor site, and talks of creating a public market near the Oktoberfest grounds.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.