Raise the Hammer

Hi Andrew, Your argument is well put, however I read an alternative viewpoint from, I think it was Brabant columnist Kevin Werner, a few weeks back. The commentary made these points (I'm reciting from memory here): - The Games are a waste of tax payers money - The reason the Spec supports them are cos they will produce lots of news and sell more papers - The reason all the other sponsors are on board is cos they will all make lots of money for themselves - The only reason the council backs it is cos it will win them votes - Hamiltonians will get no benefit from the games. I'm paraphrasing the main points, but that was the gist of it. The commentary made the point that, with the exception perhaps of the Manchester games, these events usually don't result in a post games economic boom. Folks go home and never come back. While they are on they cause massive disruption for the town and many small business people lose money. Their overall economic impact is often a negative one. The commentary also suggested that Hamilton needs to focus on it's budget process, and supporting it's crumbling infrastructure, rather than getting distracted with another games bid. I know this sounds like sour grapes, but I thought an alternative view point would be useful here. I'm not sure where I stand on this personally, only to say that when it comes to looking at the motives of the games sponsors, I have learned to be wary. Ultimately Hamilton's stakeholders tend to be looking out for themselves, often at the exclusion of everyone else. If someone says 'this is for the good of the community' what they often mean is 'this is for the good of me, and I've convinced myself it might be for the good of the community'. When I think about what's in it for ME, I would have to say 'not much' (except more taxes. Perhaps Hamilton really does need to just get serious with my tax money and start focusing on some of the basics of city planning. Sorry if this sounds sour! Cheers Ben