I KNEW it!!!

[LoneWolf_53]

Absolutely. If it was not on the agenda previous to the games, but became a necessity because of the games, then, yes, it should be considered an Olympic expense.

But it was on the agenda, the only question was when it was going to happen and how it was going to be paid for. Yes, the Olympic accelerated the timeline, but they also delivered MORE of our Federal tax dollars back to us to help pay for that infrastructure that we will now all benefit from.

Oh come on now Al let's not use logic to refute the arguments of the chronic complainers.

I'm still waiting for them to share with everyone how all those other provinces ended up so deep in the hole with no Olympics to blame?

Apparently basic economics escapes them as does the effects of recession which no political party could have accurately predicted in order to be able to factor it in to budgets and infrastructure planning.

That BC is projected to climb out of recession ahead of others is also being conveniently overlooked.

Why acknowledge any positive facts when there are so many negative ones to stew over eh.

Very convenient I suppose that all the BC whiners can keep pointing at the Olympics as the source of all their woes for without that they'd have only Gordo to pick on.

I sure hope when we climb out of this recession before all the others that the negative nellies get together collectively and send an apology to Gordo. Yeah that'll happen...........NOT!

[grammafreddy]

Absolutely. If it was not on the agenda previous to the games, but became a necessity because of the games, then, yes, it should be considered an Olympic expense.

But it was on the agenda, the only question was when it was going to happen and how it was going to be paid for. Yes, the Olympic accelerated the timeline, but they also delivered MORE of our Federal tax dollars back to us to help pay for that infrastructure that we will now all benefit from.

Oh come on now Al let's not use logic to refute the arguments of the chronic complainers.

I'm still waiting for them to share with everyone how all those other provinces ended up so deep in the hole with no Olympics to blame?

Apparently basic economics escapes them as does the effects of recession which no political party could have accurately predicted in order to be able to factor it in to budgets and infrastructure planning.

That BC is projected to climb out of recession ahead of others is also being conveniently overlooked.

Why acknowledge any positive facts when there are so many negative ones to stew over eh.

Very convenient I suppose that all the BC whiners can keep pointing at the Olympics as the source of all their woes for without that they'd have only Gordo to pick on.

I sure hope when we climb out of this recession before all the others that the negative nellies get together collectively and send an apology to Gordo. Yeah that'll happen...........NOT!

Y'know ... every time you post, I'd like to punch this smilie:

[Al Czervic]

good debate going here guys - and we are keeping it civil too - which is good to see. I agree with Al here (surprise I know) - so few Federal dollars make it this far out from Ottawa that I am glad when we do get some of the dough. I honestly believe that we'll be seeing the Olympics coming back to Canada sooner than we think - the 2022 Games aren't bid on yet (the 2018 games have three bids in right now but it looks like South Korea is going to get it) and with the huge success of Vancouver as per the ravings of the IOC etc I think we see an Olympic bid come in from Quebec City for either 2022 or 2026. The IOC will want a slam dunk success and they got it with Vancouver, and they'll want it again, and they know now that Canada provides slam dunks when it comes to hosting Olympics - we as a nation get behind it and we get it done right. We are awesome hosts with an uparalleled spirit and that is what drives these games.

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the Olympics I am wondering for how much longer they can continue to thrive in their existing format. I am not disputing that they are a great event and provide all kinds of benefits to a host country but they do carry some constantly escalating and very significant costs and I have to wonder at some point will the Olympics be pricing themselves out of the market? (so to speak at least)

This is in part why I wish we could separate long term infrastructure costs and instead focus on the direct costs of actually hosting the games. Things like the actual venues construction costs, staff, travel, security, etc,etc. These are the costs that the IOC is going to have to create a more sustainable long term (and I hope they are) strategy for. I also believe it has to be more transparent as to how much is paid for by the corporate sector (i.e NBC Broadcasting and Coke-Cola) and how much is paid for by taxpayers in the host country. This should not be a mystery or a deep dark secret.

In the absence of transparency there is always speculation so it is in the IOC’s best interests to insist on greater public disclosure.

[Al Czervic]

Absolutely. If it was not on the agenda previous to the games, but became a necessity because of the games, then, yes, it should be considered an Olympic expense.

But it was on the agenda, the only question was when it was going to happen and how it was going to be paid for. Yes, the Olympic accelerated the timeline, but they also delivered MORE of our Federal tax dollars back to us to help pay for that infrastructure that we will now all benefit from.

Oh come on now Al let's not use logic to refute the arguments of the chronic complainers.

I'm still waiting for them to share with everyone how all those other provinces ended up so deep in the hole with no Olympics to blame?

Apparently basic economics escapes them as does the effects of recession which no political party could have accurately predicted in order to be able to factor it in to budgets and infrastructure planning.

That BC is projected to climb out of recession ahead of others is also being conveniently overlooked.

Why acknowledge any positive facts when there are so many negative ones to stew over eh.

Very convenient I suppose that all the BC whiners can keep pointing at the Olympics as the source of all their woes for without that they'd have only Gordo to pick on.

I sure hope when we climb out of this recession before all the others that the negative nellies get together collectively and send an apology to Gordo. Yeah that'll happen...........NOT!

You raise some interesting points. Even some of the games greatest detractors (like the British Media) have even now conceded that the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games were one of the best ever. One British Journalist this morning on CBC Radio even conceded he “hoped” that London would do as good of a job.

The point being is that B.C’s execution of the games was by and large very well done. Campbell handpicked his Olympic team no different than Yzerman picked Team Canada. Yes, I believe Campbell, much like Yzerman (and Brian Burke for that matter) are deserving of some accolades for getting this done and making us proud, instead of embarrassed. Look at poor Mother Russia where “heads” are said to roll soon for the poor showing of that country. However the naysayers will be incapable of admitting that Campbell deserves some (any ) credit for picking a good team of people to ensure that B.C.’s Olympics were amongst the best ever. Maybe they would have rather Jim Sinclair was running the games. I don’t know.

[LoneWolf_53]

Absolutely. If it was not on the agenda previous to the games, but became a necessity because of the games, then, yes, it should be considered an Olympic expense.

But it was on the agenda, the only question was when it was going to happen and how it was going to be paid for. Yes, the Olympic accelerated the timeline, but they also delivered MORE of our Federal tax dollars back to us to help pay for that infrastructure that we will now all benefit from.

Oh come on now Al let's not use logic to refute the arguments of the chronic complainers.

I'm still waiting for them to share with everyone how all those other provinces ended up so deep in the hole with no Olympics to blame?

Apparently basic economics escapes them as does the effects of recession which no political party could have accurately predicted in order to be able to factor it in to budgets and infrastructure planning.

That BC is projected to climb out of recession ahead of others is also being conveniently overlooked.

Why acknowledge any positive facts when there are so many negative ones to stew over eh.

Very convenient I suppose that all the BC whiners can keep pointing at the Olympics as the source of all their woes for without that they'd have only Gordo to pick on.

I sure hope when we climb out of this recession before all the others that the negative nellies get together collectively and send an apology to Gordo. Yeah that'll happen...........NOT!

Y'know ... every time you post, I'd like to punch this smilie:

Why? Do you find my pointing out the flawed reasoning used to support the negative position annoying?

In lieu of the lack of the board offering a tearing one's hair out smiley, or a single digit salute smiley, to use when repeatedly seeing the same horrendously flawed logic used in posts, it comes down to either laughing at it or crying so I opted for laughing.

[westsidebud]

we want summer olympics in vancouver to weeeeeeeeeeee lets start a bid

[Cateyes]

So using the logic of some around here. Since other Provinces are running deficits that makes it ok for us to add another 9.2 billion on to ours. Rrrrrright..............

[Al Czervic]

So using the logic of some around here. Since other Provinces are running deficits that makes it ok for us to add another 9.2 billion on to ours. Rrrrrright..............

What I was pointing out is that other provinces are running far larger deficits than B.C. is and they don’t have the Olympic Games to blame those deficits on. Aside from the Olympics there something called a global recession out there and increasing expenses on health and education as well. I just thought I would mention that in case some people mistakenly thought otherwise. I appreciate that you would have already known that and of course I was adding it for the benefit of others who may not be as knowledgeable as you are.

[NAB]

Gotta remember too.. Alberta may be running a temporary fiscal deficit while waiting to see which way the global wind blows, but they are effectively debt free, with a lot of cash savings in the bank to boot, as well as no provincial sales tax or carbon tax. Albertan's in general are in pretty good shape I think due to many years, indeed decades, of prudent money management, including that spent on the Calgary Olympics.

Nab

[Cateyes]

So using the logic of some around here. Since other Provinces are running deficits that makes it ok for us to add another 9.2 billion on to ours. Rrrrrright..............

What I was pointing out is that other provinces are running far larger deficits than B.C. is and they don’t have the Olympic Games to blame those deficits on. Aside from the Olympics there something called a global recession out there and increasing expenses on health and education as well. I just thought I would mention that in case some people mistakenly thought otherwise. I appreciate that you would have already known that and of course I was adding it for the benefit of others who may not be as knowledgeable as you are.

Alberta is Alberta. They boom and bust with the Oil industry. What does that have to do with anything?

[Liberty and Truth]

So using the logic of some around here. Since other Provinces are running deficits that makes it ok for us to add another 9.2 billion on to ours. Rrrrrright..............

What I was pointing out is that other provinces are running far larger deficits than B.C. is and they don’t have the Olympic Games to blame those deficits on. Aside from the Olympics there something called a global recession out there and increasing expenses on health and education as well. I just thought I would mention that in case some people mistakenly thought otherwise. I appreciate that you would have already known that and of course I was adding it for the benefit of others who may not be as knowledgeable as you are.

Al - no point in trying to use logic and reason here - you are just feeding the troll.

[Liberty and Truth]

Gotta remember too.. Alberta may be running a temporary fiscal deficit while waiting to see which way the global wind blows, but they are effectively debt free, with a lot of cash savings in the bank to boot, as well as no provincial sales tax or carbon tax. Albertan's in general are in pretty good shape I think due to many years, indeed decades, of prudent money management, including that spent on the Calgary Olympics.

Nab

Those are good points Nab. I've always said/thought that with prudent fiscal management and intelligent mining laws designed to protect the environment while also providing attractive rates of return on capital investment, BC could prosper much like Alberta does from it's rich resource base - to the point of us also being debt free and also much lower taxation rates, including getting rid of the darn sales tax like Alberta. We have huge deposits of metals all through BC that could be exploited, but thanks to the insane policies of the previous NDP regime, billions of dollars of mining capital was scared away. It's still slowly but surely returning, and with it - jobs and billions of dollars of tax revenue - oil is good for provinicial economies, but nothing beats mining for tax revenue in periods of high prices for metals, and copper prices are booming right now. Check out symbol III on the TSX exchange - Imperial Metals - they have copper mines up north in BC - doing very well right now - really good investment.

[NAB]

Gotta remember too.. Alberta may be running a temporary fiscal deficit while waiting to see which way the global wind blows, but they are effectively debt free, with a lot of cash savings in the bank to boot, as well as no provincial sales tax or carbon tax. Albertan's in general are in pretty good shape I think due to many years, indeed decades, of prudent money management, including that spent on the Calgary Olympics.

Nab

Those are good points Nab. I've always said/thought that with prudent fiscal management and intelligent mining laws designed to protect the environment while also providing attractive rates of return on capital investment, BC could prosper much like Alberta does from it's rich resource base - to the point of us also being debt free and also much lower taxation rates, including getting rid of the darn sales tax like Alberta. We have huge deposits of metals all through BC that could be exploited, but thanks to the insane policies of the previous NDP regime, billions of dollars of mining capital was scared away. It's still slowly but surely returning, and with it - jobs and billions of dollars of tax revenue - oil is good for provinicial economies, but nothing beats mining for tax revenue in periods of high prices for metals, and copper prices are booming right now. Check out symbol III on the TSX exchange - Imperial Metals - they have copper mines up north in BC - doing very well right now - really good investment.

In my view, BC has always (in my experience anyway) placed way too much emphasis on annual budgetary deficit/surplus/balanced budgets, and far to little on debt reduction/elimination (and resource oriented policies to achieve that end). Now we are in a cudda/wudda/shudda situation with repect to debt from which we will probably never extract ourselves. The enviro-nuts and socialists among us gotta be proud of themselves ;-)

Nab

[Al Czervic]

Gotta remember too.. Alberta may be running a temporary fiscal deficit while waiting to see which way the global wind blows, but they are effectively debt free, with a lot of cash savings in the bank to boot, as well as no provincial sales tax or carbon tax. Albertan's in general are in pretty good shape I think due to many years, indeed decades, of prudent money management, including that spent on the Calgary Olympics.

Nab

I would personally like to think it is because Alberta has the lowest percentage of NDP socialists than anywhere else in the country.

[Liberty and Truth]

Gotta remember too.. Alberta may be running a temporary fiscal deficit while waiting to see which way the global wind blows, but they are effectively debt free, with a lot of cash savings in the bank to boot, as well as no provincial sales tax or carbon tax. Albertan's in general are in pretty good shape I think due to many years, indeed decades, of prudent money management, including that spent on the Calgary Olympics.

Nab

I would personally like to think it is because Alberta has the lowest percentage of NDP socialists than anywhere else in the country.

And BC has one of the highest percentages than anywhere else - coincidence that we have a 7% sales tax while they have zero and we have a 4% higher personal tax rate than Alberta? I don't think so.