Study Says Olympics Won't Help London Economy

As Chicago prepares its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, those of us who live in the Windy City have heard a lot about how much the Olympic Games would boost the city's economy.

But a report to the London government on the likely impact of the 2012 Games indicates that there is no truth to the idea that the Olympics help the economy:

The report found that 2012 may struggle to make any serious difference to unemployment in London. 'Long-term unemployed and workless communities were largely unaffected by the staging of the Games in each of the [last four host] cities. Much of the employment was temporary, and there was also little evidence that volunteer skills transferred to the post-Games economy,' says the report co-authored by Dr Iain MacRury. 'Greece actually lost 70,000 jobs in the three months following the [2004] Games, mostly in the construction industry.'

The Olympics are a great spectacle, and because of civic pride, most residents enjoy having their city host the Olympics. But when city leaders tell us the Olympics are sure to provide a boom to our economy, they're insulting our intelligence.