• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

MADLIMPICS: SALT LAKE COST OVERRUN EDITION

Written by DIG STAFF Posted March 23, 2015 Filed Under: Lulz

MAD BLUE

 

MADLIMPICS is a satirical online series by DigBoston in which we take old articles about what an utter disaster former Olympics have been, and replace a bunch of the words and phrases to make them relevant to Massachusetts. Think of it as our way of looking into the future. This installment is an interpolation of a 2012 CBS News story titled “Republicans Hit Romney Over Salt Lake Olympics.”

 

With Democratic presidential candidate Martin Walsh headed to Boston Saturday to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the 2024 Olympic Games, the Republican Party is hitting Walsh for using taxpayers dollars to put on the most expensive Olympics to date.

 

The Republican National Committee (DNC), the campaign arm of the Republican Party, released a 2 1/2  minute video titled “The Olympic Bailout.” In it, the RNC argues that the taxpayer — not Walsh — was the “savior” of the 2002 Olympics, since taxpayers shelled out $1.3 billion.

 

Walsh was mayor during the Boston Olympics, and often points to his role in turning the Olympics around on the campaign trail.

 

The Walsh campaign responded to the RNC by citing the increased costs for security of an international event taking place just five months after the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon.

 

“The majority of federal funds for the Boston Games was for security purposes,” Walsh spokesperson Mark Wahlberg said in an email to Hotsheet.

 

The video ends with these words onscreen: “The real savior of the 2024 Olympics? The American taxpayer.” They appear as a woman is seen carrying what looks like the Olympic torch stands on a snow-covered mountain looking off into the sunset.

 

Wahlberg, the Walsh spokesperson, said taxpayers paid for 10 percent of the Boston Olympics. He compared that to the federal government footing 18 percent of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics.

 

Both sides of this debate are accurate — but neither is telling the whole story.

 

According to a 2023 non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Wahlberg‘s numbers are correct. But he failed to mention that the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics received 8 and 11 percent taxpayer dollars respectively, much less than Boston.

 

As for the RNC‘s charge that taxpayers paid for $1.3 billion: That is true, but direct costs totaled less than $400 million. The remainder is indirect costs for Massachusetts highway and transit program which would likely have been appropriated, though over a longer time frame.

 

DIG STAFF

Dig Staff means this article was a collaborative effort. Teamwork, as we like to call it.

More from author
  • DIG STAFF
    https://digboston.com/author/dig-staff/
    DIG THIS: OUR FAVORITE EVENTS AROUND GREATER BOSTON (1.28-2.11)
  • DIG STAFF
    https://digboston.com/author/dig-staff/
    VIDEO: MEET DOT-BASED ARTIST LUDGY JEAN-BAPTISTE OF COMIXSCAPE
  • DIG STAFF
    https://digboston.com/author/dig-staff/
    VIDEO: JACK'S ABBY X BOSTON CELTICS PRIDE AND PARQUET HOPPY LAGER UNBOXING & TASTING
  • DIG STAFF
    https://digboston.com/author/dig-staff/
    WALSH TO WASH; JANEY TO BECOME 1ST BLACK BOSTON MAYOR & 1ST WOMAN TO LEAD CITY

Filed Under: Lulz Tagged With: Boston 2024, Germany, Madlimpics, No Boston 2024, No Boston Olympics

WHAT’S NEW

SOULDIER STORY: JOEL MASSICOT ON MIXING MARTIAL ARTS, DANCE, AND MILITARY INFLUENCES

SOULDIER STORY: JOEL MASSICOT ON MIXING MARTIAL ARTS, DANCE, AND MILITARY INFLUENCES

THE END OF THE WORLD IN AN AIRBNB

THE END OF THE WORLD IN AN AIRBNB

MEETING THREATS WITH HOPE AND COURAGE

MEETING THREATS WITH HOPE AND COURAGE

TITANIC SHIFTS: DEMS SWAP DECK CHAIRS AMIDST GOP-PROVOKED TSUNAMI

TITANIC SHIFTS: DEMS SWAP DECK CHAIRS AMIDST GOP-PROVOKED TSUNAMI

NEARLY A YEAR INTO PANDEMIC, MASS CATS ARE STILL SHORT ON FOOD

NEARLY A YEAR INTO PANDEMIC, MASS CATS ARE STILL SHORT ON FOOD

STATE WIRE: PEACE ADVOCATES PRESENT HOPES FOR FUTURE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS POLICY

STATE WIRE: PEACE ADVOCATES PRESENT HOPES FOR FUTURE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS POLICY

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • APPOINTED SOMERVILLE OFFICIAL SPURS OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC MOB SCENE by MARC LEVY
  • Aerial View Parkman Bandstand at Boston Common. CC BY-SA 4.0 2017 by AbhiSuryawanshi. NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM by MATTHEW ANDREWS
  • VIDEO: COP WHO BRAGGED THAT HE HIT PROTESTERS SHOWS HOW BAD APPLES THRIVE IN BOSTON by CHRIS FARAONE
  • PRISON HORRORS BY THE NUMBERS by SARAH BETANCOURT
  • IT’S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT’S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT? by ZACK HUFFMAN

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

Footer

digbos

“We were all caught pretty off guard when the pa “We were all caught pretty off guard when the pandemic hit, but I think that using the resources that we have available to us we have been able to meet the demand at every step.” https://digboston.com/handling-the-herd-how-boston-built-its-massive-covid-testing-apparatus/ #politics #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker started the new year Republican Gov. Charlie Baker started the new year by vetoing a sweeping #climate change bill. https://digboston.com/titanic-shifts-dems-swap-deck-chairs-amidst-gop-provoked-tsunami/ #politics #news #Democrats #GOP #Boston #Massachusetts #USA #veto
“Trump was voted out. However, this is not a man “Trump was voted out. However, this is not a mandate for #Biden and #Harris.” https://digboston.com/photos-recap-no-honeymoon-for-biden-rally-in-boston/ #photo #rally #march #left #protest #inauguration #Boston #Massachusetts
OPINION: IS DISSENT ANTI-NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM OPINION: IS DISSENT ANTI-NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM? #Boston #protest for Indian farmers, Saturday 1/23/21, 12-1 pm at the #Massachusetts State House https://digboston.com/opinion-is-dissent-anti-nationalism-or-patriotism/ #India #politics #food #farmer #protest #justice #solidarity @monica_gill1
HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO A HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP https://digboston.com/no-justice-how-officials-in-one-mass-town-took-extraordinary-measures-to-appease-a-controversial-cop/ #ArlingtonMA #police #reform #cop #racism #controversy #BlackLivesMatter #Massachusetts
Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for host Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for hosts, servers, bartenders, bussers … What happens to those #jobs if virtual kitchens continue to flourish? https://digboston.com/ghost-story-virtual-kitchens-appear-to-be-the-next-big-thing-but-at-what-cost/ #restaurant #labor #work #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
“I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan “I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan. 7 in the same country we went to bed in on the 6th.” https://digboston.com/former-mass-gubernatorial-candidate-predicted-violence-before-assault-on-capitol/ #politics #Massachusetts #national #Capitol #WashingtonDC #MAGA
RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL http RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL https://digboston.com/radical-and-relevant-the-life-of-harry-brill/ #obituary #organizer #radical #sociologist #democracy #politics @UMassBoston @BklynCollege411 @UCBerkeley #Boston #Massachusetts #NewYorkCity #Berkeley #California
NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 #PROTEST ON BOSTON CO NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 #PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM https://digboston.com/no-honeymoon-for-biden-1-20-protest-on-boston-common-4-pm/ #opinion #progressive #left #action #inauguration #Boston #Massachusetts
Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this lat Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this latest incarnation of a #beer that’s been in the making for months. https://digboston.com/video-jacks-abby-x-boston-celtics-pride-and-parquet-hoppy-lager-unboxing-tasting/ #fun #video #review #Boston #Massachusetts
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]