VANOC $5B+ = Boost For BC Democracy?

The BBC has an excellent Business of Sport report which pegs cost of VANOC at $5B+, conservatively, or about $1B per gold medal. But the report forgets two dynamic effects, as opposed to the largely static calculation. First, prosaically, if the Games present Vancouver in particular, and Canada in general, in a good light, there may be additional positive inflows over time (ie. above "normal" evolution), with greater investment, tourism, talented immigration, etc.. This is hard to quantify, and I suspect it will be fairly minor, especially as the Olympics are being held at the worst time of year for Vancouver (summer games would have made more sense), presenting the world with a dark, wet, depressing, divisive, cold, aggressive & overcompetitive picture. I'm just glad outsiders haven't glommed onto the particular passive-aggressive vibe one gets a lot in Vancouver. So far, it seems we'll be doing well if VANOC doesn't end up actually diminishing inflows over time, beyond business as usual.

But the second, forgotten, positive effect, may be that VANOC unwittingly gives a boost to Canadian society and democracy, particularly in BC. Having all our failings highlighted would be especially useful in BC, which has the worst media climate of any Canadian province, possibly. Fotheringham used to make the point repeatedly, but how does a city of Vancouver's size have two such useless, I mean USELESS, papers? Not to mention BCTV, etc.. There is far too much complacency in Canada in general, and BC/Vancouver is surely the national champion in this field, as we only compare ourselves to the USA generally, not exactly the highest international standard for human development. Having some decent foreign media and visitors come in and highlight our failings, relative to the rest of the democratic developed world, may just be exactly the jump start we need. For example, pretty much everyone else has had denticare for a while, and while we promised ourselves we'd deliver it back in 1919, or 1933 if you prefer, we still haven't done it. Similarly, VANOC's diminishment of the French Fact may have a minor negative passing effect on the federation's cohesion, but as a teachable moment, it may help advance the cause of bilingualism in the next while.

So while $1B per gold may be way too much, what price a healthy democracy and society? What price a renewed commitment to civil rights? Viewed from that perspective, the Games' foreseeable massive overruns may prove an excellent investment.