I Respectfully Disagree with Zirin
Recently a friend sent me this article by David Zirin on Facebook. I have since become a David Zirin fan; however, being a Vancouverite, I disagreed with David’s perception of our fair town and the current mood, so I thought I better set the record straight.
ON TICKET PRICING – OR COME ONE COME ALL
I am sure that a border guard did complain without solicitation on the price of hockey tickets. However that border guard’s opinion does not accurately reflect the real price of tickets. A quick craigslist search shows that there are currently 21 speculators trying to get over $5000 for any set of tickets. Mostly these are for the opening and closing ceremonies or some men’s hockey games, and all are for multiple seats. I predict that very few of these speculators will get what they hope. Having said that there are a lot of tickets that are expensive; there are many listings between $1000 and $5000 (331 listings). Not to mention that the original price of the tickets was exorbitant. Single seats for the gold medal hockey game in the top price range were $760.
And as an aside, I have never understood where the demand for the opening and closing ceremonies comes from. They are boring as far as I am concerned.
The problem I have is that Zirin is implying that the prices of Olympic Tickets are excluding locals from participating. That is just not the case. Market value for regular season Canucks tickets is $150 a pair and up. A craigslist search for under $200 yield 981 listings. Admittedly some of those are the $1 type, and some are not sporting event tickets. The point stands. Most Vancouverites could attend an event if they wanted to. Just not any event they want. I believe many will at the last minute. Due to the state of the economy, and my personal experience, I believe many will be able to get tickets below cost.
In addition, there are a lot of people who have decided to forego the paid events, and just take a couple of trips downtown with their families to soak up the environment.
THE SURVEY – OR HOW TO GET THE ANSWERS YOU WANT FOR A STORY
Zirin complains about the frowns in Vancouver, and that contradicts what I am seeing here on the ground. However, I never can resist a little self deprecating joke. Perhaps Zirin’s lack of familiarity with the northwest is the root of the problem; in January and February Vancouverites tend to frown.
Most Vancouverites are excited about the games. David quotes a survey of Canadians, with a subset of British Columbians. I had seen this survey when it was released, but discounted it immediately. The specific problem with this survey is that it does not subdivide into Vancouverites. This survey claims nothing about Vancouverites, the people most directly affected by the Olympics.
There are several general problems with this survey. The first and largest is the question. The question is not about approval of hosting the Olympics or peoples anticipation of the games. It is about spending, and I am disappointed that not more people said too much. Everyone should be very sensitive about government spending. Second it is about the PERCEPTION of the amount spent. No one really knows how much is being spent or will be spent, except for the forensic accountants that will be brought in afterwards.
BUT SINCE YOU ASK ABOUT SPENDING – OR HOW MUCH IS THIS GONNA COST ME
This is the most controversial and least understood aspect of the games. There is so much information being reported from both sides that no one can really sort it out now. It depends largely on what you count as expenses and what you count as returns. Looming large in the question is whether the Sea to Sky Highway, the convention center, and the YVR rapid transit line should be included in the costs. That is where the big jump in the numbers come from, the original net cost number was around $600, that estimate never included the 3 projects above. The jump to $6 billion is caused by them and the attorney general of BC believing that they should be included in the cost. I am no accounting expert, but these are legacy infrastructure projects that will serve Vancouverites for decades to come. I don’t believe that the whole cost of them should be attributed to the Olympics. Having said that, without the Olympics and federal dollars that would not have made it over the Rockies otherwise, these projects would never have gotten off of the ground. Maybe they weren’t the ones that Vancouver really needed. Highway 1 needed upgrading more than the Sea to Sky, and the Evergreen line would have been more helpful than the Canada line. On the other hand, rapid transit to the airport is pretty great. Compared to other recent mega projects in BC, no one can claim that they are not a booming success. The fast ferries for example cost $460 million; for 3 boats that we then sold for $19.4 million. The big item that was in the original budget, and increased is security, due largely to potential violent protestors.
Also, there are always debates about what should be counted as secondary benefits. Traditionally, the Olympic budget cannot count the cost of legacy projects, nor can it count secondary economic activity. Extra shifts at the local hotels, additional revenue to restaurants, and the resulting tax revenues are not normally counted. I have always wondered how the tax rebate effect is accounted for in government spending. For instance if a worker is paid to help build the YVR line, do his income taxes get deducted off of the total cost? I don’t think so. Once again, it all depends on how you count it. My guess is that the real economics won’t be as bad as the most negative people say, nor as good as the most positive people say.
Whether this Olympics will be a financial success remains to be seen; some have been some have not. I reserve my judgment on whether we should have hosted the games or not until afterwards. I will say that the economic activity surrounding the Olympics feels like it has helped buoy Vancouver through the recession.
Also I will say that my direct observations are that people have at least temporarily stopped talking about the money here in Vancouver.
Really in that paragraph Zirin really dropped the ball. He had the story of the year, and glossed right over it. He found a bus driver with good cheer.
Having said all of that, and heartily admitting that there are wide ranging opinions on Olympic spending, the point that I make here is that Vancouverites have largely taken a vacation from discussing the spending aspect. Next to complaining about government spending, a great Vancouver pastime is complaining about traffic. That is the kind of thing people really are talking about. There is so much changing on a daily basis that it is hard not to get caught up in the excitement. Everyone is talking about road closures, event tents, street art, security, jets flying overhead. And more recently how ugly the Canada pavilion is.
THE HOMELESS – OR HOW CAN WE SOLVE THIS PROBLEM
Zirin’s intro to this paragraph is phrased, particularly with the word “spiked”, to insinuate that the Olympics are the reason for the increase in homelessness. The increase in homelessness has been going on for years. It is also a very complicated issue; there are several reasons why people are homeless. Downtown Eastside Connects I am sure does feel contrived, but at least the city is not trying to hide the issue. Anyone who says this is only an addiction and mental illness issue; or anyone who says this is a welfare funding and available housing issue is oversimplifying things. Vancouverites are passionate about the homeless, the problem just feels intractable. In the 15 years that I have lived here a succession of mayors has tried to solve it.
There was a debate last year about whether the police could arrest homeless people to force them into temporary shelters on nights with a low enough temperature. Not that I approve of that. Due to problems in the welfare system, and the treatment of addicts I just don’t know if throwing money at this problem without a plan will result in a solution. I believe that until fundamental differences of opinion in how to solve this are at least reconciled, spending good money after bad is not the best idea. A new shelter recently opened and thankfully InSite got another reprieve. I am not saying that it is enough, and I won’t defend the Province too much. However our mayor cares, and is trying to do what he can about it.
As a fan of Mayor Gregor, despite his faults, I feel I should tell you that you can follow him on twitter . He is really big on the environment. He rides his bike to work, and in spite of the Coke sponsorship almost succeeded in banning plastic water bottles during the Olympics.
LOCAL ACTION – OR WE DON’T NEED YOUR HELP
I totally support Vancouverites peacefully protesting the games. We just don’t need any backup. It is going to be hard enough for local protestors, attendees, media and citizenry to get around. I especially support the Memorial Women’s March as do the police and City of Vancouver. Zirin places the request to change the route of the march in the context that the city was trying to hide the march.
One look at the road closure maps (lots of other cool stuff on that map) and one immediately recognizes it is due to logistics. The march normally goes down Hastings, which will be the only artery into downtown from the east during the games. It is interesting to note that this is right through the poorest community in Canada, further evidence that city is not trying to hide the homeless problem. I am all for local action for local issues, especially peaceful protests. Even the Memorial Women’s March is worried about distractions, and requests on their website to leave your own placards and signs at home.
What I am not for is professional protestors parachuting into my city with the aim of causing violence and destruction. The fundamental truth is that groups with wide ranging interests are using the Olympics to promote their own agendas; and that has less to do with the Olympics themselves than to do with the size of the stage.
There is only one group that will suffer from the actions of radical activists; Vancouverites.
Tags: 2010, david zirin, olympics, vancouver