Exercise in meaningless activities

Or all I have to say is: thank GOD New York didn’t get it:

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – There were cheers in London’s Trafalgar Square when the city was named the site for the 2012 Summer Olympics at an elaborate ceremony Wednesday in Singapore.

But the also-rans — which include U.S. entry New York — may have the last laugh: at least they won’t have to pay.

For all the attention a city gets from hosting an Olympiad, the reality is that the glory is fleeting. The Games last for two weeks. The bills can last for two decades — or longer.

More often than not, the lingering effects of even a "successful" Olympiad are busted budgets and heightened tax burdens.

The reason is simple. Cities that win the competition to host are generally the ones that come up with the most ambitious (read: expensive) plans to build athletic facilities.

That’s why New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg frantically led a failed effort to erect a new $2 billion stadium in Manhattan. And it’s why his U.K. counterpart, Ken Livingstone, requested a $4 billion "funding package" from the British government to spruce up London’s tired colosseums.

At this point they might as well have a Virtual Olympics — one that exists only in the minds of corrupt IOC officials, paid for by imaginary Canadian Tire money.