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Romney didn't build it on his own

Atlanta:
U.S. Government funds were used for security, and around $500 Million of taxpayer money was used on the physical infrastructure including streetscaping, road improvements, Centennial Olympic Park, expansion of airport, improvements in public transportation, and redevelopment of public housing projects[2] but neither paid for the actual Games and the new Venues themselves.
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(wiki)

Regarding the tax-payer expense:
The DNC put the cost to federal taxpayers at $1.3 billion. Well, yes and no. Most of that figure was for highways, transit systems and other capital improvements that federal and state officials assert eventually would have flowed to Salt Lake City regardless of the games, but was accelerated to accommodate them. The DNC’s figures include both direct and indirect costs of the Salt Lake City Games, but compare that with only the direct costs of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
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(fact check.org)

So there was $185 million in federal funds for security planned even before the 9/11 attacks. Moreover, an additional $157 million was promised for such things as temporary spectator transportation (such as construction and operation of park-and-ride lots), temporary housing for athletes, construction of access roads to some venues, and $19 million to support “staging-and-operations activities” during the games.

Under Romney’s leadership, the Salt Lake City Olympic Committee hired five lobbying firms, according to Senate lobbying records. Together with its in-house lobbying shop, the Salt Lake committee spent more than $3.5 million and, according to AP, sought federal dollars “to support a tree planting program, anti-doping educational programs, cultural outreach, communications and Weather Service funding, among other areas.”
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(fact check.org)

Again, according to a November 2001 GAO report, the federal government spent $342 million on direct costs related to the Salt Lake City Games. The $1.3 billion figure cited in the DNC ad comes from a September 2000 GAO analysis of Olympic spending, undertaken at the request of Rep. John Dingell and Sen. John McCain. It included about $1.1 billion in indirect funding for the 2002 games, including such things as highways, transit systems and other capital improvements.
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(fact check.org)

The 2001 report notes, “According to federal and state officials, these projects would eventually have been undertaken regardless of the Olympic Games, but they were prioritized or accelerated so that they could be completed in time for the Games.
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(fact check.org)
 
Debra said:
Though he takes full credit for it here is how Romney "saved the Olympics "
Salt Lake City Olympics earmarks a double-edged sword for Romney - First Read
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In turning around the 2002 games, Romney got a big helping hand from U.S. taxpayers. The federal government poured $1.5 billion into the Salt Lake games – more than twice the amount spent on any previous U.S. Olympics.


“The Olympic Games supposedly hosted and funded by Salt Lake City, which began in corruption and bribery, has now turned into is an incredible pork-barrel project for Salt Lake City and its environs.” McCain said in a Sept. 19, 2000, speech on the Senate floor.

“I do not understand how we Republicans call ourselves conservatives and then treat the taxpayer dollars in this fashion,” McCain said in his 2000 speech. “This has to stop.”

“The Salt Lake City Olympics will be the most expensive Winter Games ever, costing nearly $2 billion -- or $791,667 per athlete -- to stage 17 days of skiing and skating. Nearly $1 of every $5 will be picked up by U.S. taxpayers.” [Associated Press, 12/11/01]

“Pledging to avoid tax hikes and minimize cuts, Romney has made Olympic-size federal subsidies a campaign-promise solution to balancing the state budget. ‘We need to do a better job getting money from Washington,’ he tells voters in a televised speech. ‘I was successful in doing that in organizing the Olympics, got record funds from the federal government. I’ll do that here.’” [Salt Lake Tribune, 11/4/02]

‘I am big believer in getting money where the money is,’ Romney says on the video, ‘The money is in Washington.’” [ABC News, 3/2/12]

 
Even if this false premise was true it shows more than anything that Romney is vastly more qualified to do the job than Obama

The Salt Lake City Olympics were a success thanks to his leadership and business experience

If we're going to use the use of taxpayer dollars as the measurement who has had more success? Obviously Romney
 
Bronson said:
Even if this false premise was true it shows more than anything that Romney is vastly more qualified to do the job than Obama

The Salt Lake City Olympics were a success thanks to his leadership and business experience

If we're going to use the use of taxpayer dollars as the measurement who has had more success? Obviously Romney
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No it shows he is a spendthrift who wanted one of the biggest government handouts ever given to the Olympics, it's isn't difficult to "turn the Olympics around) on 2.7 billion read the article usually Olympics would get like 30 million. Your businessman candidate is full of hot air.
 
Debra said:
No it shows he is a spendthrift who wanted one of the biggest government handouts ever given to the Olympics, it's isn't difficult to "turn the Olympics around) on 2.7 billion read the article usually Olympics would get like 30 million. Your businessman candidate is full of hot air.
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Historically and factually incorrect.
 
Debra said:
No it shows he is a spendthrift who wanted one of the biggest government handouts ever given to the Olympics, it's isn't difficult to "turn the Olympics around) on 2.7 billion read the article usually Olympics would get like 30 million. Your businessman candidate is full of hot air.
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Spendthrift?

Romney had a surplus after the Olympics. It was an amazing success.

You have nothing. 15% Real Unemployment after more than 5 trillion spent = FAILURE

I find it hilarious that even using your own flawed delusional premise that Romney is still vastly more qualified that President EmptyChair. Priceless!
 
tessaesque said:
Historically and factually incorrect.
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I stand corrected
1984 Olympics -75 million
1996.Olympics 609 million
2002 Olympics 1.3 Billion
 
Debra said:
I stand corrected
1984 Olympics -75 million
1996.Olympics 609 million
2002 Olympics 1.3 Billion
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The 1.3 billion was "indirect funding" used for infrastructure and, according to the government, was already earmarked for Utah...they just got it earlier than originally planned due to the Olympic scheduled. That is straight from factcheck.org (as I mentioned in my previous post). Over and about that was just over $342 million in direct costs.

So...the whole thing is kind of a non issue. Just another spin piece designed to do anything but actually discuss legitimate issues.
 
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Debra said:
No it shows he is a spendthrift who wanted one of the biggest government handouts ever given to the Olympics, it's isn't difficult to "turn the Olympics around) on 2.7 billion read the article usually Olympics would get like 30 million. Your businessman candidate is full of hot air.
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Well, Obama failed to turn the economy around with like 40 times that. He actually just pissed most of it away by allowing his party to allocate it to useless pet projects and various special interests (including his various bundlers)

And THAT's the difference that competent management makes and something people failt o grasp time and time again.

Throwing money at problems does not fix them. Yes, money enables people to fix problems, but only if it is allocated and used properly. Throwing more money at crappy schools doesn't make them better - it only improves functional schools that have the administrative and logistical capacity to use that money.

But regardless, Romney's "fixing" of the olympics was qualitatively and quantitatively far, far more than Obama had ever done before he became president.
 
CJ 2.0 said:
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Well, Obama failed to turn the economy around with like 40 times that. He actually just pissed most of it away by allowing his party to allocate it to useless pet projects and various special interests (including his various bundlers)
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And it was too small. $800 billion to save a $14 trillion economy? That's simply not enough. Especially one undergoing a financial recession and deleveraging.

Furthermore, you seem exceedingly unaware of what the Stimulus actually was. 1/3 was tax cuts. The rest was mostly transfer payments to states. Actual pet project funding was a miniscule amount of the total. Go google what was in it. You'd be surprised just how wrong you are.

And THAT's the difference that competent management makes and something people failt o grasp time and time again.
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How is the Olympics the same as near total epic collapse of the backbone of the American economy? Furthermore, Obama is not a dictator. And the elements that impact the economy verse the Olympics are far greater.

Throwing money at problems does not fix them. Yes, money enables people to fix problems, but only if it is allocated and used properly. Throwing more money at crappy schools doesn't make them better - it only improves functional schools that have the administrative and logistical capacity to use that money.
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This I'll agree with you.

But regardless, Romney's "fixing" of the olympics was qualitatively and quantitatively far, far more than Obama had ever done before he became president.
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Fair enough.
 
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