Olympic dollars would be better spent on necessities of life
Clearwater Times
Feb 22 2010
Opinion by Tom Coles, Clearwater

I feel like the only sober person in a room full of drunks! Please someone tell me I'm not alone - not an island of rationality unto myself in a sea of automatons made mad by corporate greed and political apathy, quite cleverly disguised as patriotism and fuelled by the aphrodisiac of national pride! I see them in waves of red and white, their faces painted, flags held aloft. A game? Sports? That's what this is all about? The Olympics. I've heard over $1 billion just for security alone! Think about that for just one moment. A billion dollars! That's $1 billion of your, the taxpayer's, money. What to speak of the actual cost of the event itself. All pouring back into the economy the proponents tell us. Whose economy? I'll tell you. Those who can already afford the obscene prices for seats. Those who can already afford to spend $100 a day just for a parking spot in Whistler, etc….

The media reports that 800 teachers in B.C. are being alerted to possible job cuts and an estimated 300 will be axed. Schools are being closed. Daycare funding curtailed. Food banks lacking in the funds necessary to fed the hungry. Non-profit groups struggle with bake sales and bingos in an attempt to raise money to give some level of dignity to the lives of our seniors. Our heath care system has been so eroded so as to force those in need to wait in pain for necessary surgeries or pay exorbitant fees to the for-profit option. Those tormented by addictions and mental illness likewise are left to suffer as there is no funding for treatment facilities. Single parents, those with disabilities and those on welfare are relegated to poverty. Workers who daily risk life and limb as their corporate employers reap billion dollar profits are forced to beg and fight for compensation when injured. The poor who are faced with legal challenges no longer have access to representation in a system where those with the financial means can buy 'justice.' Meanwhile: we spend millions of taxpayers dollars every year in military actions to support corporate America's domination of the worlds resources. Rural communities across B.C. are still expected to contribute their tax share while facing mill closures and job losses and the stress and hardship caused to families forced to face an uncertain economic future. This is the system we now face. This is the reality we now live in. It is not an Orwellian future - it is NOW! So ask yourself then, honestly, are there not so many better places we could spend billions of dollars? …