Olympic Park 2012

As the economy worsens and things get tougher, some see the Olympics as a curse. Of course in tough times it may seem that it is indeed a curse, as the taxpayer ends up funding more and more of the project. Private developers are dropping out of the project quickly as financing dries up and the government has had to pick up the slack. This piece in the Chicago Tribune warns Chicago about their own bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
However in reality we should not worry so much about the Olympic project. True, things are now worse than we had anticipated at the time of bidding. However in many ways this is the perfect type of project for the government to spend money on – it sets up a lot of long-term infrastructure, creates jobs during the downturn and regenerates a depressed area of London. In short this is what a Keynesian stimulus in times of recession should be all about – long-term investment that will give a long-term boost and at the same time create jobs and potentially re-train people laid off in other industries. I would much rather the government spends on projects like this than waste it on other projects which may yield nothing for the country.