olympic waste of money?

[TallDarkAndHandsome]

Am I the only one who suspects that the Olympic games are a huge waste of money? Data is now emerging to suggest that the streets of London are empty. The seats at the games are empty.the whole thing was supposed to bring in 18 billions...seriously?

Why don't we just say lets have fun and enjoy sport for what it is and stop pretending? I feel for all the good many charities which have seen their government support cut to zero because of the games.

This fleeting joy has cost us £9,000,000,000 (9 million million pounds). Just imagine what an extra million in your and each local authority's area in the entire country could of done and still billions would be left over.

No one can see any evidence of a sporting legacy or benefit in my part of the country. This money could of benefited so many more people than just the few it did. Most the cash went to private companies that built and marketed the thing. Meanwhile the poor, disabled and elderly are being hammered because of large scale fraud in the banking sector.

I am very wary because its not possible to put a price on the human side and spirit of the games which was always going to be used to justify the cost no matter how high it got.

Most the cash went to private companies that built and marketed the thing.

Presumably those private companies employed people - certainly the building trade must of employed a lot of people for quite a few years.

There is no objective answer to a question like this. It depends what you include in the costs, and benefits. How do you value the feel good feeling it has generated in a lot of people ?

Arguably, a proportion of that money would not have been spent at all if it wasn't for the Olympics, so it isn't as simple as saying what other things it could be spent on.

must of

must HAVE !!! Gah - I have just committed one the most irritating crimes in the english language - one I am constantly correcting in my DC :(

And the Armed Forces will receive the grand total of 2.5 million for their efforts.

BrightEyes - do you realise that all of that money wasn't public money? An enormous amount of it was put forward by private companies in the form of donations and sponsorship.
If it hadn't been raised for the Olympics, it wouldn't have been sat in the Treasury waiting to be spent on something else

Lots of people have been employed as a result of the construction, and there is now brand new key worker housing with community and sports facilities where previously there was derelict land.

Most the cash went to private companies that built and marketed the thing.

Do you think most the money these companies make goes to the little people they employ? I am not denying it did some good but I think most of it is profit for the owners who "won" these fat government contracts.

do you realise that all of that money wasn't public money?

According to The Public Accounts Committee the public sector funding package was £9.3bn.

Its so easy to justify anything as long as its "for a good cause" because no one can argue with that, right? I enjoyed the games but the reality of it costing the most vulnerable in society the most tarnished it and saddened me.

I do not think it was completely unworthy of funding or worthless but it was terrible value for money for the taxpayer, which is why I think it was a "waste" of money.

I mean what is "inspiring" about telling a disabled person "sorry but we're taking away a substantial portion of the money that you depended on and lowering the quality of your life further, but on the plus side, you get to watch the Olympics on the telly!"?

Is it me or is it getting hot in here! But seriously, I didn't just come here to rant or be negative (honest!), but have my opinion challenged or even validated so please don't imagine I am as angry as I probably sound :)

BrightEyes: I think it's simply that there is only so much negativity that a human being can stand.

I'm no pollyanna (and yes, I have a severely disabled person in my family) so understand what you are saying, but the negativity there has been over these Olympics has made me fed up (though thankfully some have been won over) when there is absolutely no reason to think that cuts to service would not have been made or any single disabled person would have got any more money, if there had been no Olympics.

Too much negativity and whinging is ultimately soul-destroying. It sucks any joy from life and leaves one defeated and depressed. Negative people are TBH an utter pain in the arse. (Don't take that personally, just generally).

It didn't take anything away from the most vulnerable in society. Cuts have been made because of the deficit, because of the fact that certain things are not sustainable long term, not because of the Olympics.

On the contrary, the Olympics and Paralympics being in London has secured a lot of funding for the disabled sport/activity that I am involved with, (and we arent in London) and there will be a very definate, positive legacy for disabled people.

Do you think most the money these companies make goes to the little people they employ? I am not denying it did some good but I think most of it is profit for the owners who "won" these fat government contracts.

The bigger picture is that those companies are probably at least part owned by the pension companies that most people have some kind of stake in. So profits would eventually benefit a wider audience. You can untangle the costs and benefits so easily - it is always a very complex picture.

the negativity there has been over these Olympics has made me fed up

I find it ironic because the unquestionable positivity over this good cause, that is being used to justify any use of our taxes, is what has made me fed up!

I admit I am playing devils advocate here as this is a view many people in my family have and they are convincing me, so I wanted to float it on the internet and see what people say without getting into too many serious discussions in real life that just lead to disagreement. I agree negativity sucks the joy from life but I also like to maintain a balanced view of things for my own well being (I still think many things about the games were great). Never turn a blind eye to things.

Its hard to say money was directly taken from the disabled and most vulnerable but Lottery money was diverted from charities and I am sure some of the £9.3bn would have trickled down to the bottom. Surely public services budgets will be strained even more by this controversial use of tax payers money. In New York they used the money ear marked for the games to regenerate the poorest areas when they lost the bid so it is possible some of the money could of been used better.

I also admitted there is some economic benefit for us all, although its hard to say if it out weights the cost to an individual in taxes and I still think the lion share of the profits went to a few rich people.

To summerise why I think it was not an good use of our taxes:

*Most areas in the country did not benefit a great deal

*Lion share of profits went to a few rich people

*The cost will be felt most by the most vulnerable in society

*The tax money could of been much better used to benefit all of society (especially when the elderly and disabled are being hammered)

I do absolutely agree that there is no point dwelling on all this (after all we cant change anything now). But I wanted to hear a few different opinions to help give me a more neutral point of view, and I thank you all for that. I think I have said my bit now, and filled my annual quota of negativity, so I wont keep arguing the intricacies of every point.

To end on a more positive note I am helping with a kids party later so that should help brush off the negativity :)