The Esquire Politics Blog pulled this one out of the archives and I’ve liberated it, liberally.
Read more: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/mitt-romney-crony-10723178#ixzz20yp93Tap
In 2002, investigative reporters Donald Barlett and James Steele published, in Sports Illustrated, a scathing assessment of how Romney “saved” the Olympics. Apparently, taking care of every “job creator” and public servant with a hand out and claiming Olympic Pride is not spending taxpayer money in self-dealing schemes; it’s “building the economy” while the rest of us were smoking dope and organizing the poors into an anarcho-syndicalist reserve army. Here is a taste from the article:
“Is this a great country or what? A millionaire developer wants a road built, the federal government supplies the cash to construct it. A billionaire ski-resort owner covets a choice piece of public land. No problem. The federal government arranges for him to have it. Some millionaire businessmen stand to profit nicely if the local highway network is vastly improved. Of course. The federal government provides the money. How can you get yours, you ask? Easy. Just help your hometown land the Olympics. Then, when no one’s looking, persuade the federal government to pay for a good chunk of the Games, including virtually any project to which the magic word Olympics can be attached. For the past few years, while attention was focused on the Great Olympic Bribery Scandal-in which Salt Lake City boosters dispensed as much as $7 million in gifts, travel, scholarships, medical care, jobs and other goodies to IOC members (and their relatives and companions) to ensure that Utah’s capital city would be chosen to host the 2002 Winter Games-private and public interests have siphoned an estimated $1.5 billion out of the U.S. Treasury, all in the name of those same Olympics.”
and,
This is not to say that the recipients are unappreciative. Mitt Romney, SLOC’s president, has acknowledged the U.S. government’s contribution by saying, “We couldn’t have done it without them. These are America’s Games.”
Since Romney can’t talk about his good works at Bain,won’t talk about exactly how he acquires and keeps his wealth, won’t talk about his governance over the good people of the Commonwealth, maybe he can elaborate on his recovery plan? Nah.
BTW: In 2003, London’s National Audit Office projected the costs to the British Government for the 2012 London Olympic Games to be $3.7 billion. It now estimates the cost at $14.6 billion and an independent estimate (from Sky News) puts it at $37 billion.
Ah, yes, crony capitalism in the age of austerity is doing just fine.
