Cynical me: For a long time, since the Montreal Olympics of 1976, I have felt that hosting an Olympics event is a colossal waste of money. Cities are cash-strapped as it is, with too small a tax base no matter how large the population (diminishing returns?), and the idea of forking over so much money to fund the theoretical argument that the later financial rewards are so worth the massive investment, is simple craziness. Sure, higher levels of government insanely contribute heaps of cash to the cause, but the fact is a city ends up carrying the burden for a long time, while having to beg for money to help run its essential services for years to come, hopefully to be equalized by the net amounts in the end.The feeling is that a payoff or benefit, at least, never does come. The jury is out on that one...
http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/758014--are-the-olympic-games-really-worth-it
(Photo: Artist Kathryn Walter came up with this logo when Toronto was bidding on the Summer Olympics.)
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