Olympic Gold, Chicago Olympics, The Chicago Way, Cost of Olympics
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Friday October 2, 2009
Today's Zinger:
Winning the Olympics, Priceless.
Paying For The Olympics, Billions.
The Morning Briefing:
President Obama is off to Copenhagen. The "i" President is being accompanied by his wife and Oprah Winfrey in Air Force One with another jet following with the President's posse. What's at stake is the Olympics. The President and the two first ladies will present their bid for Chicago to host the 2016 games.
The cost of hosting the Olympics has risen dramatically in the past 20 years. With each new Olympic game, the amount of gold needed to fund the games breaks records. Chicago estimates that it will cost $5 billion to host the games. This will pay for the new venues, improvements to infrastructure, security and housing. Maybe this is why Illinois has a $16 billion state budget deficit, they make commitments and totally underestimate what things cost, and then look to the taxpayers to bail them out.
Who can forget the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The venues, the opening ceremony. They were spectacular. At a cost of approximately $45 billion. China doesn't want to disclose the exact number. Vancouver is next with the Winter Games, estimated to lose $1.6 billion. London is next on the Summer Olympic trail (2012), with the cost of these Olympics in the $20+ billion range. Has the cost of the Olympics gone too far?
While some are hoping for Chicago to win the bid for the 2016 games, others are hoping this bid fails. We should all be rooting for the President to bring home the Gold. Money that is, because it will cost a lot, and if the actual cost of recent Olympics is any indication of what the future holds, we can expect to see a $30+ billion price tag for Chicago. And if the recent Olympics is any indication of what the future holds, the real cost will be hidden and suppressed from the public due to concern over public outrage.
To paraphrase Jesse Owens, the Olympics is "A lifetime of paying for 10 days of recognition".
Zinger looks at the Olympic experience, through the eyes of the hosting city. Be careful what you wish for lest you get it.
Who Said It:
"A Lifetime of Training for 10 seconds"
Answer at the bottom of article
The Discussion:
The Olympic will be held in London in 2012, but apparently the games have been on-going since it was first announced that London would be home to the 2012 Summer Olympics. With three more years before the start of the games, and a budget already 10 times the original estimate, I can see why Tony Blair was deeply concerned about "winning" the games.
This from the U.K Daily Mail News.
Londoners will be saddled with a £20 billion bill which Mayor Livingstone deliberately suppressed.
"We were never able really to go public with the full budget," he said. "That was always suppressed and the Mayor didn't want any significant growth in these budgets because then it would create a bigger tax."
"I had advocated telling the public because I felt like the credibility of the process would be eroded... as time went on and it became evident what the [real] costs are."
When London won the Games in 2005, the total cost was estimated at £2.4billion and later revised upwards to £3.3billion. Last year, Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell told the Commons that this had risen to £9.3billion, including a contingency fund of £2.7billion.
Mr Lemley, who left the ODA in October 2006, described that figure as "ridiculous" and insisted he was "positive" the final bill would top £20billion."
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-558211
In 1976, Montreal hosted the winter games. The winter games typically cost less to host than summer games, a lot less. It was just a couple of years ago (2005) that Montreal paid off the $1.5 billion debt which represented the loss of the games. Thirty years....
The development costs of the Vancouver games scheduled for 2010 were originally planned for less than $1 billion. However, the costs are already exceeding $6 billion and the real costs are once again being suppressed for fear of public outrage. The out-of-pocket operating costs are now projected to be $1.6 billion. This according to the Vancouver CTV news. Here is a link. Vancouver Olympics costs.
Obviously the athletes win. The recognition is priceless and future endorsements are worth millions. The country wins in the pride and patriotism it brings to its people. The International Olympic Committee wins because the scam continues. The real question is the host city. Strapped with millions in cost, the Olympics is one of the largest public works projects that any city can undertake. Massive spending on roads, security, infrastructure improvements lead to jobs and a legacy that will stay with the city for years to come. But at what price and who pays?
Mayor Daley of Chicago has told the IOC that Chicago will guarantee the funding of the Olympics. Of course he also winked to the locals about what that means. Chicago and Mayor Daley are looking for President Obama to bring the Olympics to his hometown and create a massive jobs infusion program.
In the process we can be sure that whatever the final cost, double it again to handle the corruption and payoffs that are "The Chicago Way".
No President has ever made a personal plea for the Olympics. I just wonder who is going to pay for this thing? This may be the first time the American Taxpayer is going to foot the bill, all in the name of stimulus, payoffs and of course patriotism. The Chicago Way has reached all of America.
Who Said It:
"A Lifetime of Training for 10 seconds"
Jesse Owens
1936 Summer Olympics, Germany
Today's ZingerToon:
Today's cartoon from Dave Granlund. You can find him at www.Davegranlund.com
face="Arial" size="3">Recent ZingerKing Articles:
Articles can be found under “Recent Articles” in the purple sidebar. Older articles can be found in the archives that are stored by month. These are found at the bottom of the purple sidebar. Here is a list of the most recent articles.Click here to access the archives www.ZingerKing.com
Health Care and Illegal Immigrants
Obama's Eight Month Report Card
Climate Change and Afghanistan
Missile Defense in Czech Republic and Poland
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Part I: Implications of a Radical Change in Life Expectancy
Zingers Alternative For health Care Reform
The Tug Of War Of Special Interest Groups and Health Care Reform
Credibility Of The Administration Is Challenged
Taming The Angry Mobs
Creating A Free Market Alternative to Government Health Care
Cash For Clunkers
You can access these and other articles at www.ZingerKing.com
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ZingerKing operates without advertising or government funding (obviously). The purpose is to inform and educate its readers about economic and political issues that affect our lives.
Help ZingerKing grow. Have you Zinged someone lately? Please forward a link to ZingerKing to a friend, family member or neighbor. If you enjoy reading the Zinger please subscribe (see the subscribe box at the top of the article in the purple side band). Subscribers receive the "Morning Briefing" when published with a link to the full article. Periodic alerts are sent to subscribers only with important updates and insights into critical issues. Your email address will not sold to others and will not be shared.
Write To Us:
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____________________________________________________________________________
Friday October 2, 2009
Today's Zinger:
Winning the Olympics, Priceless.
Paying For The Olympics, Billions.
The Morning Briefing:
President Obama is off to Copenhagen. The "i" President is being accompanied by his wife and Oprah Winfrey in Air Force One with another jet following with the President's posse. What's at stake is the Olympics. The President and the two first ladies will present their bid for Chicago to host the 2016 games.
Who can forget the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The venues, the opening ceremony. They were spectacular. At a cost of approximately $45 billion. China doesn't want to disclose the exact number. Vancouver is next with the Winter Games, estimated to lose $1.6 billion. London is next on the Summer Olympic trail (2012), with the cost of these Olympics in the $20+ billion range. Has the cost of the Olympics gone too far?
While some are hoping for Chicago to win the bid for the 2016 games, others are hoping this bid fails. We should all be rooting for the President to bring home the Gold. Money that is, because it will cost a lot, and if the actual cost of recent Olympics is any indication of what the future holds, we can expect to see a $30+ billion price tag for Chicago. And if the recent Olympics is any indication of what the future holds, the real cost will be hidden and suppressed from the public due to concern over public outrage.
To paraphrase Jesse Owens, the Olympics is "A lifetime of paying for 10 days of recognition".
Zinger looks at the Olympic experience, through the eyes of the hosting city. Be careful what you wish for lest you get it.
Who Said It:
"A Lifetime of Training for 10 seconds"
Answer at the bottom of article
The Discussion:
The Olympic will be held in London in 2012, but apparently the games have been on-going since it was first announced that London would be home to the 2012 Summer Olympics. With three more years before the start of the games, and a budget already 10 times the original estimate, I can see why Tony Blair was deeply concerned about "winning" the games.
This from the U.K Daily Mail News.
Londoners will be saddled with a £20 billion bill which Mayor Livingstone deliberately suppressed.
"We were never able really to go public with the full budget," he said. "That was always suppressed and the Mayor didn't want any significant growth in these budgets because then it would create a bigger tax."
"I had advocated telling the public because I felt like the credibility of the process would be eroded... as time went on and it became evident what the [real] costs are."
When London won the Games in 2005, the total cost was estimated at £2.4billion and later revised upwards to £3.3billion. Last year, Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell told the Commons that this had risen to £9.3billion, including a contingency fund of £2.7billion.
Mr Lemley, who left the ODA in October 2006, described that figure as "ridiculous" and insisted he was "positive" the final bill would top £20billion."
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-558211
In 1976, Montreal hosted the winter games. The winter games typically cost less to host than summer games, a lot less. It was just a couple of years ago (2005) that Montreal paid off the $1.5 billion debt which represented the loss of the games. Thirty years....
The development costs of the Vancouver games scheduled for 2010 were originally planned for less than $1 billion. However, the costs are already exceeding $6 billion and the real costs are once again being suppressed for fear of public outrage. The out-of-pocket operating costs are now projected to be $1.6 billion. This according to the Vancouver CTV news. Here is a link. Vancouver Olympics costs.
"The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Game organizers released a long-awaited business plan Tuesday, and said the games will cost less than originally thought. The committee, VANOC, originally estimated that the operating cost of the games would be $1.7 billion, but the 200-page plan puts it at $1.63 billion, $70 million less."There is a theme about the Olympics. The costs of these games are extraordinary. The host city typically is strapped with massive debt. The profitability of the games is a crap shoot. Few have been profitable and most have lost hundreds of millions of dollars. So if the games are so expensive and rarely produce a profit, then who wins?
Obviously the athletes win. The recognition is priceless and future endorsements are worth millions. The country wins in the pride and patriotism it brings to its people. The International Olympic Committee wins because the scam continues. The real question is the host city. Strapped with millions in cost, the Olympics is one of the largest public works projects that any city can undertake. Massive spending on roads, security, infrastructure improvements lead to jobs and a legacy that will stay with the city for years to come. But at what price and who pays?
Mayor Daley of Chicago has told the IOC that Chicago will guarantee the funding of the Olympics. Of course he also winked to the locals about what that means. Chicago and Mayor Daley are looking for President Obama to bring the Olympics to his hometown and create a massive jobs infusion program.
In the process we can be sure that whatever the final cost, double it again to handle the corruption and payoffs that are "The Chicago Way".
No President has ever made a personal plea for the Olympics. I just wonder who is going to pay for this thing? This may be the first time the American Taxpayer is going to foot the bill, all in the name of stimulus, payoffs and of course patriotism. The Chicago Way has reached all of America.
Who Said It:
"A Lifetime of Training for 10 seconds"
Jesse Owens
1936 Summer Olympics, Germany
Today's ZingerToon:
Articles can be found under “Recent Articles” in the purple sidebar. Older articles can be found in the archives that are stored by month. These are found at the bottom of the purple sidebar. Here is a list of the most recent articles.Click here to access the archives www.ZingerKing.com
Health Care and Illegal Immigrants
Obama's Eight Month Report Card
Climate Change and Afghanistan
Missile Defense in Czech Republic and Poland
Escalating the War in Afghanistan: Pelosi and Obama
President Obama's Speech To Congress Regarding Health Care
Part I: Implications of a Radical Change in Life Expectancy
Zingers Alternative For health Care Reform
The Tug Of War Of Special Interest Groups and Health Care Reform
Credibility Of The Administration Is Challenged
Taming The Angry Mobs
Creating A Free Market Alternative to Government Health Care
Cash For Clunkers
You can access these and other articles at www.ZingerKing.com
Shameless Request For Support:
ZingerKing operates without advertising or government funding (obviously). The purpose is to inform and educate its readers about economic and political issues that affect our lives.
Help ZingerKing grow. Have you Zinged someone lately? Please forward a link to ZingerKing to a friend, family member or neighbor. If you enjoy reading the Zinger please subscribe (see the subscribe box at the top of the article in the purple side band). Subscribers receive the "Morning Briefing" when published with a link to the full article. Periodic alerts are sent to subscribers only with important updates and insights into critical issues. Your email address will not sold to others and will not be shared.
Write To Us:
You can comment on any article by clicking on the comment button at the bottom of each article or you can write to us at ZK@ZingerKing.com
While it would have been a real benefit for Chicago, bringing the Olympics to Chicago is opening Chicago to more payoffs and corruption. Your concerns are valid, I only wish it wasn't so.
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