Olympic Bullshit

Bangpuss

Well-known member
So we're saying hosting the Olympics is a good thing because it was a kind of accidental stimulus for the economy? That kind of makes sense, if you believe that we couldn't have done more for the economy with the however many billions that are being spent on an event that lasts one month. As many articles have attested, most of the venues built for the Games don't pass the 'legacy test', meaning they will be useful to the wider community afterwards.

Sure, it put your brother in a job -- paid for largely by taxpayers. But spending so much to build sports venues that won't be much use after summer 2012 is a reckless way to plan an economy / infrastructure. Like lobbyists for the arms industry who claim that it's a vital part of the economy, there are more productive things people could be doing than building sports venues or weapons (which is actively destructive rather than productive). This is especially true when you consider things like toll bridges in Scotland, which have to be funded by the people who use them, and our extremely expensive railways, which could have used that money and benefited us all.
 

luka

Well-known member
er no we're not. but would you like me to play devils advocate just so you can have a fight?
 

luka

Well-known member
and ive read that book about toll bridges and pfi stuff so i dont need a lecture. thanks anyway.
 

luka

Well-known member
let me tell you something which is gonna be important for your spiritual development little brother. you are not as clever as you think you are. take time.
 

Bangpuss

Well-known member
and ive read that book about toll bridges and pfi stuff so i dont need a lecture. thanks anyway.

Lecture?

let me tell you something which is gonna be important for your spiritual development little brother. you are not as clever as you think you are. take time.

Oh, great sage, please be my teacher. Lecture me til the cows come home.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
"Lottery funding for good causes is expected to rise from £1.3bn this year to £1.7bn in 2013/14 because the government will stop using the money to fund the London Olympics, according to John Penrose, the tourism and heritage minister."

I still can't get how they got away with this theft in the first place. For synchronised swimming.

There don't seem to be any good arguments that any recent Olympic city apart from Barcelona benefitted from legacy (apparently lots of people in Sydney benefitted re skills, but then they went off elsewhere to be consultants, with little benefit for Sydney itself), and that benefit was made largely from tourism, whereas other cities had already fulfilled their potential in this area. Otherwise, everything about 'stimulus' is incredibly vague and unconvincing. Allt he building work certainly created jobs in the short term, but seems reminiscent of Ireland's many huge building projects before it crashed - there's no use for them (apparently).

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/stand...cs-bunting-displays-to-keep-sponsors-happy.do - oh,t he Carnival spirit!
 
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luka

Well-known member
oh i see bangpuss you want to be a journalist, thats sweet. keep working hard and practicing and one day you can achieve your dreams. you seem to have the right blend of literal mindedness and deadwood prose. keep it up.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Knowing both of you to an extent (obviously solely digital in your case Luka), I think you'd get on! Some arguments are best off forgotten.
 

Bangpuss

Well-known member
Oh lord. What did I do wrong to incur his wrath? Make a comment about the Olympics. In deadwood prose, no less.

Chin up and keep reading my articles.
 

luka

Well-known member
i didnt read them to be honest, but i looked at the titles. they were a bit off putting. i still think you should keep it up though.
 

luka

Well-known member
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internet journalist writes 'thinkpieces' on indie musicians.
not my sort of thing really but its very popular among a certain section of the student community. theres definitely a market for this sort of thing and you should keep it up.
 

Bangpuss

Well-known member
Have a look at my other articles about politics if you like, but the prose is a little dreary for your tastes.
 

matt b

Indexing all opinion
Via Private Eye:

The Olympic park has lost 75% of estimated value. The park, which contains the Olympic stadium, an aquatic centre and 250 acres of parkland and was bought for more than 750 million pounds, was valued at 138 million pounds if sold to one developer and 157 million pounds if sold in lots. In 2009 it was valued as being worth 2 billion pounds.


£40 million= taxpayer funding to Olympic opening/closing ceremonies.
£50 million= annual cuts to services in Newham
 
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Bangpuss

Well-known member
I never understood the appeal of the opening ceremony. No sport is played, just an army of people in tracksuits walking round a track holding flags and the organisers basking in the glory of their achievements.

I can't decide if the Olympics or the high speed rail thing are the most wasteful domestic policies of the last decade. Both originate in the cauldron of New Labour, by the way, so it's not all the coalition's fault. But you have to question why a government whose raison d'etre is economic prudence wants to go ahead with the high speed railway. Over £30 billion is a modest estimate, since we all know how the budgets of public spending projects balloon. It gets you to Birmingham 15 minutes quicker.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I can't decide if the Olympics or the high speed rail thing are the most wasteful domestic policies of the last decade.

Don't forget Trident! And I'm not talking about the Met nicking yardies...

Funny that the coalition has inherited some massively costly projects from New Labour, since the last government inherited the Millennium Dome, initiated under Major. I remember half-wondering at the time if the last Tory govt hadn't deliberately started a hugely expensive, high-profile public project that was likely to be a white elephant because they knew they were probably going to lose the next GE and just wanted to embarrass Blair.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
The dome was one of the weirder ideas, I've never really understood what it was supposed to be and I don't think anyone else does either. I guess it had a lot of private investment though didn't it or was that a con? How much did it cost the tax payer?
 
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