Reply to: Olympic economic boost

[TimberWolf]

I checked London hotel prices yesterday for next week and was suprised that even 5 star hotels had reasonable prices.

That may be more related to you getting richer than hotel rooms getting cheaper though.

[AtW]

I read over the weekend that LOCOG had to give 20,000 unfilled hotel rooms back and that it's cheap as chips to get a hotel in London at the moment.

I checked London hotel prices yesterday for next week and was suprised that even 5 star hotels had reasonable prices.

[Mich the Tester]

Paula Radcliffe did.

She isn't competing.

[Scoi]

The word on the street is 'triple dip'.

or a double mini boom

[sasguru]

Hopefully this guardian article will be like most of the rest - a load of bollux.

...

You say that but in the early 90s when I was a newish grad and still read the Guardian, it was the only paper to keep on about the decline in manufacturing and the over-reliance in financial services and how it would lead to disaster.
There are some good minds writing for the Guardian albeit with a left-wing slant - and that's no bad thing since unbridled right-wing mantras have led us to where we are.

[TimberWolf]

No athlete gets to compete in the Olympics, never mind win a medal, by whingeing and whining and blaming the world for every little problem he or she faces

Paula Radcliffe did.

[doodab]

Of course the Olympics won't solve the economic crisis. What they can do, if anyone takes notice, is demonstrate what's involved in success as a contrast to the political backbiting, whining excuses and tolerance, in fact, encouragement of incompetence and the loser mentality that's at the heart of our economic decline.

Permit me a sidestep; I read an article at the weekend in the paper here in NL saying that there are lots of large companies in Europe annoucing mass redundancies while their overpaid, overrated management state 'difficult economic conditions' as a cause and of course award themselves huge bonusses and salaries. But a few companies, notably ASML and BMW are investing heavily and reaping success in new markets (BMW are soon to open a new factory in NL to produce more mini's). So it isn't the economy that's screwing up businesses; it's badly run businesses and weak people who blame circumstance instead of changing it that are screwing up the economy.

Now here's my point. No athlete gets to compete in the Olympics, never mind win a medal, by whingeing and whining and blaming the world for every little problem he or she faces, as is the habit of so many modern managers and politicians (and arguably some people on the dole). They get there by working their arses off, following training regimes that don't just hurt; they make you physically sick. They put years of their lives into trying to achieve something, knowing that some tiny misfortune might knock them off course; then, when that happens, they get up and do it all over again while trying to learn the lessons from what went wrong. I know this because I've tried and failed to reach the top in sport. The real physical and emotional pain that goes into trying to achieve something in a sport is beyond the imagination of some weedy, useless fat managerman who can't sell enough goods and blames 'the economy', which is the very economy that's dependent on what he and others actually do. Contrast those useless managermen with sportspeople who have to accept defeat and say 'I screwed up on the day'. And contrast those managers and 'leaders' with team captains who fire up their team mates for one big final effort to either win gloriously or go out all guns blazing.

I hope that what the Olympics does is demonstrate to people what's really involved in success, and show everyone what real leadership is about. If a few people, especially young people, pick up on that then it will have worked.

Rant over.

WMTTS

Bring back the gumption. That's what this country needs.

[AtW]

I was rather hoping that some companies might decide to invest in the UK.

If by "invest" you mean buying off taxpayer funded Olympics assets on the cheap after the Games are over then maybe

The only real money benefit from Olympics is that all the corrupt officials from 3rd world will have a valid excuse to visit London and open new bank accounts...

[AtW]

Oh come come

Who can watch that opening ceremony and not think "great, I'll buy a Landrover"... oh, no, hang on, that's Tata. I mean a Rolls Royce... oh, no again, BMW... ok, we're fooked.

There is always Bentley to fall back on ... on wait!

[Mich the Tester]

I don't believe business owners have changed much. But politicians have raised the bar to success by adding loads of red tape. The state is way too large and needs to be trimmed - with a corresponding reduction in taxes. Given a chance we can compete with Asia.

People who own and run businesses are very different to those who run businesses on behalf of anonymous shareholders without ever risking a penny of their own money.

[BrilloPad]

The UK is in a slump like the rest of the west, but the UK has tried to print it's way out of it. This will not be pretty.

It would be nice if the "printed" money ended up with the population and started flowing round the economy - instead of in the hands of the bankers.

[BrilloPad]

No athlete gets to compete in the Olympics, never mind win a medal, by whingeing and whining and blaming the world for every little problem he or she faces, as is the habit of so many modern managers and politicians (and arguably some people on the dole). They get there by working their arses off, following training regimes that don't just hurt; they make you physically sick.

I don't believe business owners have changed much. But politicians have raised the bar to success by adding loads of red tape. The state is way too large and needs to be trimmed - with a corresponding reduction in taxes. Given a chance we can compete with Asia.

[alreadypacked]

The word on the street is 'triple dip'.

The government can add in or leave out some figures to make it look like things are better than they are, but there comes a time when everything has to be accounted for. Second dip. Ok they think, this recession has to be over by now, let's get people believing it.
No the economy has not recovered yet, third dip.

The UK is in a slump like the rest of the west, but the UK has tried to print it's way out of it. This will not be pretty.

[Mich the Tester]

Of course the Olympics won't solve the economic crisis. What they can do, if anyone takes notice, is demonstrate what's involved in success as a contrast to the political backbiting, whining excuses and tolerance, in fact, encouragement of incompetence and the loser mentality that's at the heart of our economic decline.

Permit me a sidestep; I read an article at the weekend in the paper here in NL saying that there are lots of large companies in Europe annoucing mass redundancies while their overpaid, overrated management state 'difficult economic conditions' as a cause and of course award themselves huge bonusses and salaries. But a few companies, notably ASML and BMW are investing heavily and reaping success in new markets (BMW are soon to open a new factory in NL to produce more mini's). So it isn't the economy that's screwing up businesses; it's badly run businesses and weak people who blame circumstance instead of changing it that are screwing up the economy.

Now here's my point. No athlete gets to compete in the Olympics, never mind win a medal, by whingeing and whining and blaming the world for every little problem he or she faces, as is the habit of so many modern managers and politicians (and arguably some people on the dole). They get there by working their arses off, following training regimes that don't just hurt; they make you physically sick. They put years of their lives into trying to achieve something, knowing that some tiny misfortune might knock them off course; then, when that happens, they get up and do it all over again while trying to learn the lessons from what went wrong. I know this because I've tried and failed to reach the top in sport. The real physical and emotional pain that goes into trying to achieve something in a sport is beyond the imagination of some weedy, useless fat managerman who can't sell enough goods and blames 'the economy', which is the very economy that's dependent on what he and others actually do. Contrast those useless managermen with sportspeople who have to accept defeat and say 'I screwed up on the day'. And contrast those managers and 'leaders' with team captains who fire up their team mates for one big final effort to either win gloriously or go out all guns blazing.

I hope that what the Olympics does is demonstrate to people what's really involved in success, and show everyone what real leadership is about. If a few people, especially young people, pick up on that then it will have worked.

Rant over.

[vetran]

Triple dip - I'll have to ask NorthernLadyUk what means, sounds kinky.

We had the boost.It meant the Spanish could afford to take on half our bank accounts, I look forward to Poland buying the Palace of Westminster with the proceeds of the building work.

not sure what the UK got except Zil lanes.