JonboyE

Yes it does. The School Board will get a modest increase to its budget. It will lay off a few tens of teachers that it should never have hired in the first place (though it will subsequently re-hire them for September). In the meantime we all wonder at a system that allows elected officials to spend money they know they don't have in the hope they can embarrass the government into bailing them out.

Something like that anyway.

If the writer of the article was a real journalist he should have researched the numbers and known that there was no connection between the facts he was quoting and the case he was trying to make. In other words he would have been deliberately misleading his readers. However, as others have pointed out above, he is not a real journalist but a looney sub-political ranter so best ignored.

<message to self - take my own advice>

The latest numbers* I can find on the cost of the Olympics are:

VANOC will break-even on the operating costs of the games.

The City of Vancouver will likely break-even or even make a modest profit on the Olympic village.

The province has increased its funding from $600m to $785m - almost all as a result of the increase in its share of the security budget, and it claims that the majority of its increased spending is of a capital nature and will remain in the province.

In return for its investment the province has seen an increase in economic activity of $4bn. If I have time I will try and find a source for how much the government gets to keep of each $1 of increased economic activity. If it is less than 20% (the rate required to recoup the $785m investment) then the naysayers may have a point. I doubt it.

The province will introduce an austerity budget nest month. It will not be alone in the world in this respect. I have not read a credible commentator suggest that the budget will be more austere than it would have been without the economic boost of the games.

* numbers not independently verified, and some from politicians, so obviously need to be considered in context.

Alan2005

That's just the kind of smoke and mirrors I expect to see. It's a capital project - so lets keep it off the end balance sheet.

The convention centre, the sea to sky etc, yes the province gets to keep them, but that doesn't mean you can discount them when adding up the costs.

I saw on TV that $59,000,000 had been spent on laptops for vanoc officials; I can't find a link on the web but it was on global bc news a week or so ago. $59M? That's 59,000 laptops even assuming high end ones. I can't see any justification for that at all; but I guess the laptops will stay in the province so that's $59M we don't have to notch up as a cost of the games.

JonboyE

Actually, if it is a capital project it would stay on the balance sheet. Its the revenues and expenses that don't belong there.

You can. It just depends on the point you are trying to prove. Capital budgets and operating budgets are two different things and are not, and should not, be evaluated in the same way.

Is it spending or is it investment?

Take the VSB. If they need to build a new school are they supposed to go into a massive deficit in the year and lay off all the teachers? Or should they recognize a part of the cost over the years that the school is used?

That is just the kind of BS that gets Ms. Ima Ginstit* of Kerrisdale all in a lather. Laptops are provided to Vanoc from Acer who are an Olympic partner. I also think you are a zero out on the number of laptops. The original estimate was 5,200 though Acer are now claiming they provided 6,500 "pieces of computing equipment".

http://www.acer.com/olympic_games/eng/worldwide.html

jerry brewer

Hi
I think someone told me there was a riot at a guns'n'roses concert some years back.
cheers
Jerry

jerry brewer

Hi
yeah London should be interesting..
would almost bet there will be more than two police on each corner, it's gonna be a nightmare trying to control the airspace.
and the costs, etc. well just look at what happened with T5 at heathrow.
Should make vancouver 2010 look like a low budget movie..

Anway it all starts soon

Now do i cheer for Canada, UK or Both..

As the advert goes C eh N eh D eh .... now where's the Molsons.......


cheers
jerry

Alan2005

Yes, I know. I would like to see it presented like we spent $X received $Y and now have infrastructure Z. I can work out for myself if I think Z = X - Y represents good value.

Personally I think that the convention centre will make money, as will the Canada line eventually. Decades will pass before the sea-to-sky highway costs are recouped if they ever are. That road just isn't that busy and I've driven it a fair number of times (ironically it's the one piece of investment that I do derive value from).

I'm not sure of the figure but that's what they said. I don't think I misheard as I've discussed it with others who saw the report and their memory matches mine. I don't doubt your figures though and it wouldn't be the first time global BC got it wrong.

jerry brewer

Hi
There shutting/combining schools near us, but that has nothing to do with the Olympics, It's lack of Kids, hence to many teachers, we saw the writing on the wall about two years ago.

true shame for those businesses effected by the Canada Line, but look at the benefits from the line also..
cheers
Jerry

jerry brewer

Hi
ignoring costs I think the main benefit is it will save a few lives.
cheers
Jerry

ExKiwilass

Yeah I know. Vanoc and Vanoc's beotch Translink should not have lied about cut and cover and now they should pay up to those who have lost businesses. I'd be happy for my tax dollars to go there. From where I stand it just looks like a classic olympian steamroller over the little guy.

I heard that about north van i.e. closing due to lack of kids. Word was they were going to start advertising in other districts, don't know if it happened though.

Alan2005

The investment was made to increase the capacity and speed of the road not to save lives. If that was the goal it could be achieved at a tiny fraction of the cost.

JonboyE

VANOC commissioned an academic report from UBC to evaluate the costs and benefits of the Games. I think there was a ten year timescale to make a full evaluation so I don't expect we'll see anything soon, but it will be interesting all the same when it is eventually produced.

Alan2005

Well, regardless of what people think of the article - it really did make it onto global BC news. They really can't help themselves when it comes to coverage in the media; especially if it's seen to be international.

dboy

I'd rather see international attention drawn to the DTES and maybe we can finally get some federal money for the issues there. I heard that the province as set up a media centre to inform media of what the dtes is all about and what they are doing - just hope its not all glitz and no substance - as much as I applaud the efforts the province and city are undertaking, there's much to be done and more than a little late.

Alan2005

They also had coverage of an anti-olympic demo on the DTES. In total they had two or three minutes of negative olympic reporting which for them is practically doom mongering. I suspect it's cos they aren't the official olympic channel.

I remain unconvinced that anyone really cares about the people of the DTES, they just care about how it looks. The bit in bold sounds like an attempt to stage manage the place - they want to be careful that doesn't bite them on the arse.

dboy

yes, that's my feeling too. Seems like an effort to manage perceptions, we shall see.