Why I support NYC's $12 Billion bid for the 2012 Olympics

[KurtNYC]

I have seen the light and will now advocate for hosting the Olympics with letters like this one:

The 2012 Olympic Games:
$12 Billion in Taxes Well Spent!

Dear NYC Taxpayer,

We urge your support of NYC bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. Who could think of a better way to spend $12,000,000,000 ? The games provide a way for the children of wealthy parents to secure lucrative endorsement contracts with major corporations. In fact, without the Olympics, Tanya Harding might well be a name none of us had ever heard of.

Surely hosting the Games will be worth the additional $1,500 in taxes for every man, woman and child in the City of New York and the additional taxes to pay for the Games will barely be noticeable when added to the 8.75% regional sales tax and the City of New York 3% payroll taxes. You don’t hear the taxpayers in the City of Atlanta complaining about how they continue to pay for their hosting duties of 10 years ago because they believe that, in spite of the terrorist bombing attacks during the 1996 Games and the enormous public debt the Games left for the city, it was worth it!

Most Scandals are in the Past

The IOC has gone a long way toward thinking about cleaning up their act. It will be hard for IOC Vice President Kim Un-yong to commit more of the crimes of which he was convicted since he now sits in prison in South Korea. It will be harder for him to continue to extort bribes, embezzle and send money to North Korea from his prison cell. And the IOC may even strip his membership some time soon.

IOC officials who demanded thousands in cash under the table from Salt Lake City probably aren’t part of the decision making committee any more. And with any luck the appetite of IOC officials for prostitutes, jobs, scholarships and visa for family members and off the books condos for them to live in, has been greatly reduced.

The ice skating judges from Russia and France were sternly warned about their illegal vote trading that robbed the Canadian skating pair of their Gold medal. They may not want to face that embarrassment again. Records that were set by blood dopers and steroid users will be hard to beat without blood doping and steroids but we just might do it!

We Get To Cheat

Perhaps you have seen the ad campaign around the city “Every country gets home field advantage” ? While this may seem like a blatant admission of an intention to use gamesmanship and cheat outright, it is really just a statement of intentions to try and steal a few medals from the all the other countries who plan to cheat also.


Avoid spending for schools, the WTC and the Second Avenue subway

By pouring billions of tax dollars into extending the 7 train and building three times the amount of office space which was lost at the World Trade Center, we can be sure to thwart the expensive rebuilding of downtown and the Second Avenue subway. Who needs a subway when you can build a nice velodrome that will bring joy to people who know what the hell a velodrome is ?

TV and Ticket Revenue goes to the IOC

According to the Charter of the IOC, the host city gets no revenue from the Games themselves. Surely we are liberal enough to want to donate $12 billion for this worthy cause. Like other large government expenditures, private contractors and major corporations stand to make millions on the 2012 Games. They could be making billions since taxpayers will be responsible for covering all expenses but the system just isn’t that efficient.

Tourism May Be Boosted

The City of Athens projected revenue based on sold out venues and hotel rooms and so do we. The Games will virtually pay for themselves, all that stuff about Atlanta and no TV and ticket revenue not withstanding. Even if fears of terrorism, disgust with rigged competitions and voting and high ticket prices keep people away here also, the IOC will make money. Given that the taxpayers of NYC will be on the line for all of the expenses, there is no way the IOC can lose. Even if the Games are cancelled, the City will guarantee the IOC a huge profit. It is in the contract which Bloomberg has agreed to sign the moment we win the Games.

And if Athens is any indication of what we can expect, there will be plenty of seats and hotel rooms for anyone with the money and nerve to show up!

We can Afford It

With regional sales tax at a nice even 10% we could pay for the Olympics in about 20 years. That is the current 8.75% plus a 1.25% 2012 Olympics’ tax. It will only take the amount of sale tax collected on $960 billion worth of retail sales to pay off the debt. Okay that’s more than 100 years of retail activity so maybe some other taxes will have to be created. You still say it’s not worth it? Just ask Atlanta, Sarajevo, Montreal or Athens if the hosting the Olympics was a blessing or a curse – they will give you the truth.

To help bring the Games to New York City and spend $12 billion in tax revenue on them, contact:

NYC2012
1 Liberty Plaza, 33rd Floor
New York, NY 10006
Phone: [phone]


http://www.newyorkgames.org/news/

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Why worry?

Latest odds:

Paris 2-5
London 4-1
Madrid 12-1
New York 14-1
Moscow 50-1

[KurtNYC]

3. A 14 to 1 shot at being ripped off to the tune of $1500

is still not comforting.

In fact the idea that politicians can lie so blatantly about how the Games generate revenue or "pay for themselves" (forbidden by the IOC charter btw) is disturbing whether we "win" the Games or not. The way the IOC does business, I have to believe that to even get into the running for the 2012 games, Bloomberg has already dirtied himself up by paying out bribes and the like. And during an election year for him no less. Fortunately for Bloomberg, his opponents have also supported this masochistic bid for the scandal plagued Games and are in no position to criticise him on this issue.

[Bluebear]

2. I say give the Olympics to Jakarta or Bangkok

What better way to demonstrate world solidarity with the tsunami victims than by pouring a ton of money into their countries to rebuild? :)

Would that it could happen.

[makhno]

4. Excellent

I had a bit of a scare when I saw the thread title, but you set me straight. What a waste of public money, space and effort. It's not as if the city were rolling in cash either.

I can't see how anyone could support spending money on problematic vanity projects when the city can't afford to properly staff its fire and police departments, pay for public schools, support an ever-growing homeless population, or maintain a working public transit system.