# We could soon have corporate sponsorships of national parks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 26, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750 "2016-05-26T17:19:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/1 "2016-05-26T17:19:48Z")
> **[Corporations Could Soon Advertise in Our National Parks](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/corporations-could-soon-a_b_10146528)** > > The Grand Canyon, brought to you by Budweiser. Verizon signs throughout Yellowstone. The thought of advertising in our national parks is nauseating. But it could happen. What is this nation coming to? We have enough logos and sponsorships. National parks are a place to get away from them. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/2 "2016-05-26T17:33:42Z")
Hell of a lot better than [Trump’s](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/donald-trumps-unusual-plan-eliminate-the-national-debt) or [Cruz’s](http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/02/19/3751233/ted-cruz-public-lands-ad/) plans. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/3 "2016-05-26T17:41:38Z")
Due to the consistent ratings of Pants On Fire we should call this The Year Of The Whopper. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/4 "2016-05-26T18:02:03Z")
Paying for our national parks with tax dollars is something I strongly support. But you know what else I strongly support? Paying for lots of things that cannot be funded with corporate sponsorship without risking their success–like scientific research, keeping old people out of poverty, and funding public defenders. Until such time as we convince the rest of America to stop wanting to spend so much money on the military, fix our outrageous medical spending, re-work our bloated an inefficient tax code, etc., allowing recognition for corporate donations to parks seems like a pretty reasonable step when the alternative is having the trash overflow, etc. The HuffPo article exaggerates what the donors will be able to get for the money. For example, if Michelin buys the park a bunch of buses (score!), they [could](http://www.eenews.net/assets/2016/03/30/document_gw_08.pdf) “include a short, unobtrusive credit line with the donor’s name script and logo” that does not include any “advertising or marketing slogan.” ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/5 "2016-05-26T18:20:49Z")
What about a corporate sponsored military? That could work. A lot of businesses want to support it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/6 "2016-05-26T18:36:36Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > What about a corporate sponsored military? That could work. A lot of businesses want to support it anyway. This hellfire missile has been brought to you by [Da’Bomb: Final Answer](http://www.amazon.com/DaBomb-Final-Answer-2-Ounce-Bottle/dp/B001BIXK7K) hot sauce. When you want the very hottest, choose Da’Bomb. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/7 "2016-05-26T18:43:05Z")
SEAL Team Hallmark. “When you care enough to send the very best.” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/8 "2016-05-26T18:52:28Z")
Rather than further hijacking this thread, here’s one in Thread Games. [Corporate sponsorship of the U.S. Government](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19360034#post19360034) ---
**Author:** ![oara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b77776/32.png) [@oara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oara)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/9 "2016-05-26T19:31:35Z")
The more we are ruled by corporations and the more ad money decides what can exist, the more people forget there has ever been any other way. Who remembers that the city bus used to be the city bus before it became the city billboard? Everyone grows to think it’s normal, everyone grows to imagine that any alternative would somehow be expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/10 "2016-05-27T00:23:27Z")
> [@oara](#): > > The more we are ruled by corporations and the more ad money decides what can exist, the more people forget there has ever been any other way. Who remembers that the city bus used to be the city bus before it became the city billboard? Everyone grows to think it’s normal, everyone grows to imagine that any alternative would somehow be expensive. Let’s see. I was born in 1950. I’ve never seen a bus without an ad on it. Back in my hometown, a construction company with a marketing genius running things bought up the back panel of every bus in the city. As you drove behind the smelly, belching busses, you would be treated to, in very large letters, the name of said con com: PUGH CONSTRUCTION. We kind of liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-could-soon-have-corporate-sponsorships-of-national-parks/755750/11 "2016-05-27T00:26:46Z")
Somewhere I read a description of Americans as “consumers.” At one point (possibly in George Washington’s day), we were described as “citizens.” I don’t like the change.