Athletes village may cost taxpayers $1B

[unit]

Originally Posted by 68style

Is there a reason anyone can explain why a bunch of athletes need to have brand new top-of-the-line personal luxury apartments for the TWO fucking weeks that they are here?

Everything about the Olympics is total bullshit. If it ceased to exist, nothing would change in the world.

certainly not worth the time and money sacrificed, theres no 2 ways about that.
i like the idea of it though, gives countries a way to compete in which they can be proud, other than a world war. however, i dont like the fact that its become more centered over showcasing the host city than the actual competition itself. kinda takes away from the whole point of the olympics.

[falcon]

Originally Posted by 68style

^
Money into our city for who? Rich people who own resorts and restaurants and hotels? Why would any of us give a fuck?

You don't understand how an economy works do you? Personally I don't give a rats ass where the incoming money is going to, just as long as it's coming to our city.

Go do some reading on how an economy works.

[falcon]

Originally Posted by 68style

*snip*

FOR TWO EFFING WEEKS man...

I'd feel sorry for any business that makes its bottom line up from 2-3 weeks of increased business!

do you guys REALLY not realize the kind of long term effects having the olympics will have on Vancouver's local industry? I hate the ignorance or RS members. Maybe instead of putting new stickers on your rides, go do some reading and learn something.

[Soundy]

Originally Posted by Great68

*doo dee doo*

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/l...shColumbiaHome

"Vancouver councillors seek $458-million Olympic loan
Updated: Tue Jan. 13 2009 06:20:28

CTV.ca News Staff

City councillors in Vancouver are seeking emergency borrowing powers to ensure they have enough money to finish the athletes' village for the 2010 Winter Games. "

"Meanwhile, a city councillor close to the Robertson says the provincial government may ultimately be on the hook for the project. "

"The costs will ultimately still fall on the province since the venues will have to be completed -- whatever the price in order that they be ready in time for the Games" -- if private backers walk away. "

Nowhere does that say the city is asking the province for the loan.

By law, municipalities in BC are unable to seek loans of this size *from anyone* without approval by its citizens, and that normally comes during elections. Since the next civic election is too far off the be useful, Robertson is planning to ask the province for an amendment to law to allow the city to go ahead and seek a loan without going through the usual approval process.

So to be clear: Vancouver IS NOT asking BC for a loan.

Whether they do so sometime in the future, or whether the province ends up having to cover it through other avenues, is another matter and somewhat moot at this point. Feel free to bring up your argument again when and IF that happens.

[quasi]

From what I understood this morning the City of Vancouver is trying to bypass a referendum that they are required to hold in order to borrow this 4XX million dollars they want to help fund this project. It's one of the checks in balances in place to insure that the City isn't blowing the taxpayers money without their permission. They need the Provincial Governments OK to bypass this referendum which is how the Provincial Government is involved at least at this point.

Reading above that is pretty much what Soundy just wrote.

[68style]

Originally Posted by falcon

do you guys REALLY not realize the kind of long term effects having the olympics will have on Vancouver's local industry? I hate the ignorance or RS members. Maybe instead of putting new stickers on your rides, go do some reading and learn something.

You're 20, wait until you're out of university and dealing with the real world. Those classes you take on economics share principles of systems that are of a utopian nature and economics =/= reality. It's an example of what "could" be and cannot be applied conclusively to any situation in any country.

This will have a very small trickle-down effect to the local economy afterward for small businesses, a huge lump-sum windfall for large already established companies and a nil-to-very negative effect on the general population not employed by or in relation to the event.

Anyway, just wait and see for yourself by fall of 2010

[Great68]

Originally Posted by Soundy

Nowhere does that say the city is asking the province for the loan.

By law, municipalities in BC are unable to seek loans of this size *from anyone* without approval by its citizens, and that normally comes during elections. Since the next civic election is too far off the be useful, Robertson is planning to ask the province for an amendment to law to allow the city to go ahead and seek a loan without going through the usual approval process.

So to be clear: Vancouver IS NOT asking BC for a loan.

Whether they do so sometime in the future, or whether the province ends up having to cover it through other avenues, is another matter and somewhat moot at this point. Feel free to bring up your argument again when and IF that happens.

Well that changes EVERYTHING.

Come on, who other than the BC government is going to "loan" 458 million dollars to the city of Vancouver?

[goo3]

^ they issue bonds, then ppl/businesses buy bonds @ 4% interest or whatever the going rate is.

Or they can get a loan from a bank.

[wouwou]

^bonds probably, but for that amount the rate is going to be a pain.

and forget about banks.

[static]

Originally Posted by Great68

An olympics project over budget... There's something new.

It kind of sucks that only Vancouver residents got to participate in the Plebicite years back, when this will now affect the entire province (Should the BC government grant the loan, which I'm sure it will).

I challenge any of you to find a crown project completed within budget.

Expo 86 is a good example:

deficit of $311 million CAD (in 1986) !!!.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_%2786#Scandal

BC Fast Cat Ferry: Budget $210 million ($70 million/vessel) Actual cost: $460 million ($150 million/vessel)

Use: Zero

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Ferry_Scandal

TransLink is already $100 million short of what it needs to maintain and expand transit services in 2009. And unless it can boost revenues by $150 million annually by 2011, it could start axing services and infrastructure.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Tra...800/story.html


this list could probably go on and on... i feel for home owners, your taxes are gonna be increased.

[orange7]

Originally Posted by 68style

*snip*

FOR TWO EFFING WEEKS man...

I'd feel sorry for any business that makes its bottom line up from 2-3 weeks of increased business!

You're fooling yourself if you think this is going to benefit us long term... yah sure the Canada Line got built and all these other infrastructure things, I understand those WILL benefit us long term but it's ludicrous that it took the Olympics (again, a TWO WEEK event that is so overindulged on its own importance these days its almost a contest to see who can spend the most money putting them on) to build those things... funny how that money ONLY became available to support a 2 week event that a bunch of rich people get to hobnob at and make business deals or get their firms involved in building said infrastructure. That infrastructure should have been built legitimately YEARS ago, too little too late by a shortsighted government that can't even see into the future despite the fact the plans are laid out in numerous other cities in the world for them to follow.

I hear the other argument coming: "Vancouver is a no fun city, finally we have a big event!" How about instead of this decadence of affluence we're building toward, we use a smidgen of that money to bring back the Molson Indy or attract Formula 1 or maybe MotoGP here? Streamline applications/paperwork so that Pemberton's Music Festival can go on again in 2009? Bring in a MLS soccer franchise with an updated stadium? Build a race track near to town? All these things didn't (or haven't yet) happened because of money and government not thinking they're sexy enough to dive headfirst into. The Olympics will come and go and Vancouver will go back to being a boring city.

I mean really all of this stuff is beyond the scope of understanding for any of us since there are so many layers to it, but if you honestly think that you are going to benefit in some way from this (other than the enjoyment of watching Canada win some medals) I'll gladly buy you a beer 5 years from now, my guess is you'll be on your way to the bank to cut a cheque to pay your substantially increased property and income taxes just like me.

Sorry that it only took 30 years for Montreal to pay their stadium off, not 32... big effing whoop.

It's a simple question really, I'll watch the Olympics just like everyone else... but at the end of the day, was it worth spending several billion dollars+ to host a 2 week long sporting event? Was it? I don't think so... but hey, at least we didn't spend $40 billion like China. Imagine what they could have done with that money to bring that country's people out of the stone age? Same thing here... keep in mind the schools or hospitals that should have been built when your kid is complaining he can't get enough of the teacher's time at school or when you're older and you need to wait 6 months for an operation..............

Anyway, it's a moot point, 64% of the population already voted 5 years ago to put us into this indebted mess (I wonder how many would change their mind now), just have to sit back and watch it all unravel now

By the way, you need to really cut the personal insults out of your arguments, they'd hold a lot more weight and I seriously doubt you would reiterate those particular points to my face or to anyone you know so its rather hypocritical to discuss spouting off at the keyboard since that is precisely what you've done. I can understand why you believe in the points you've made above and won't marginalize you for believing in them, I just think you're going to be proven wrong in the long term, so not sure why you see fit to call me an idiot and whatever else above since none of what I said is a stretch of the imagination nor am I alone in what I've stated.

wow... this is longer than the essays I do for my English class...

mad props for you


xD wanna help me on my next Eng. assignment? I just failed my first quiz T.T

[antonito]

Originally Posted by falcon

do you guys REALLY not realize the kind of long term effects having the olympics will have on Vancouver's local industry? I hate the ignorance or RS members. Maybe instead of putting new stickers on your rides, go do some reading and learn something.

Long term? Pretty close to nil, considering that most Olympic cities rarely have a long term economic impact....well, other than crippling debt

Really though, how do people figure Vancouver is going to get a significantly larger number of tourists? The yearly high rankings as a world class city, Whistler being one of the top rated ski resorts, go downtown and maybe half the people there aren't tourists....you really think we can do much better than now?

Oh well, at least with the Olympic village still green lighted, the locals will be able to get as much money as possible from tourists and the athletes during the Olympics, rather than the fully retarded idea of taking away hotel spots to give to the athletes instead of giving a temporary loan in return for a commodity to be sold at a later date.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

so thats where my 33% taxes being deducted is going, to this useless motherfucking project

[Great68]

In my opinion, Whistler was better back in the day.

It's too fucking busy now, it's going to be even busier after the olympics.