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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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 OPINION 
1

Let's Go Back to Beijing in 2012

Economic crisis makes spending billions on 2012 London Games unjustifiable

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(Newser) – With the economic crisis taking billions out of Britain’s coffers, spending billions more to get ready for the 2012 Olympics makes no sense, writes Alice Miles in the Times of London, who foresees a day when “the unemployed, the homeless, and the destitute will join the athletes parading through London.” The best solution: Give the 2012 Games to already-prepared Beijing.

With 4 years to go, the Olympics budget has already tripled, spent on junk like a $90 million, very un-British basketball stadium. For Miles, the best solution is to cancel the Games, as in wartime. If not, then let China have another go, and let Britain spend money on rebuilding its economy instead of “a big, stupid party.”

Construction work continues on the main stadium for the 2012 Olympic Games, at the Olympic Park site in London, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008. A British newspaper is reporting that Tessa Jowell, the government minister responsible for the Olympics, admitted to leisure industry bosses at a dinner earlier in the week,...
Construction work continues on the main stadium for the 2012 Olympic Games, at the Olympic Park site in London, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008. A British newspaper is reporting that Tessa Jowell, the government...   (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
With the British government on track to trim nearly $30 billion from its budget in 2012, spending more than half that sum on the Summer Olympics seems ludicrous, Alice Miles writes.
With the British government on track to trim nearly $30 billion from its budget in 2012, spending more than half that sum on the Summer Olympics seems ludicrous, Alice Miles writes.   (AP Photo)
Tessa Jowell at the 2012 Olympic Park site in London, Nov. 13, 2008. The minister admitted that there would likely have been no bid for the Games had officials known a recession was approaching.
Tessa Jowell at the 2012 Olympic Park site in London, Nov. 13, 2008. The minister admitted that there would likely have been no bid for the Games had officials known a recession was approaching.   (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
The Chinese and British flags during the closing ceremony for the Beijing Olympics at the National Stadium, Aug. 24, 2008. The next summer Olympics are scheduled for London in 2012.
The Chinese and British flags during the closing ceremony for the Beijing Olympics at the National Stadium, Aug. 24, 2008. The next summer Olympics are scheduled for London in 2012.   (AP Photo)
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, right, presents the Olympic flag to London mayor Boris Johnson during the closing ceremony at the National Stadium, Aug. 24, 2008, in Beijing.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, right, presents the Olympic flag to London mayor Boris Johnson during the closing ceremony at the National Stadium, Aug. 24, 2008, in Beijing.   (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
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The Games have been moved before: in 1906 the decision was taken to move the 1908 Olympics from Rome to London after Mount Vesuvius erupted and the Italians needed the money to rebuild Naples. - Alice Miles

Suddenly 2012 sounds a lot less enticing. The year in which Britain was to have been triumphant, basking in international Olympic glory, will be the year when the debt hits home. - Alice Miles

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Mr.C
Nov 26, 08 1:03 PM CST
In an economic slump one of the things often done is to build infrastructure. It creates job and boosts the economy. This article is 100% wrong. Reply
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