US Taxpayers Bailout of 2.7 Billion for 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City

Romney continues to brag about how he saved the Salt Lake City Olympics but it seems it was the US Taxpayer not Mitt Romney who save the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.  How can the winter games cost so much more than the summer games when there are a lot less athletes and less venues that need to be built?  


Never thought about a state ripping off the taxpayers to get needed infrastructure fixed they had neglected.  What am I missing? In Los Angeles in 1984 corporate sponsors paid for the Olympic venues and games -- we lived in So Cal at the time and witnessed first hand what a fantastic job that Peter Ueberroth did as head of the 1984 Summer Games held in Los Angeles.  If you want to see a real organizer for the Olympics, look no further than peter Ueberroth not Mitt Romney.  Fast forward to 2002 and Romney ripped off the taxpayers for $2.7B for the Utah games.  This is supposed to be this big fundraiser.  Something is not right here and once again it comes down to the lies of Mitt Romney.  


Once again Romney thought nothing of taking money from the taxpayers for his own pet project -- the Utah Olympics and lying about what really happened and who bailed out the Olympics.  It was the taxpayer not his Bain Corporation Rolodex with the final bill from the US Taxpayers ending up being $2.7 billion.


Did Mitt Romney lie to then President Bush about how much this was going to cost?  My bet is YES!  With all this baggage of Romney that McCain knew, why did he back him for the nomination?  Were the other candidates that bad or is McCain up to something?

Romney’s 2.7 Billion Olympic Bailout by John McCain
Posted on July 28, 2012 by politicol 

In 2002 the Winter Games held in Salt Lake City, Utah, home of the Mormon Church, Mitt Romney canvassed the White House for a bailout of the Olympic Games. 

The Final Bill was: 2.7 Billion Dollars given to Romney by George Bush, the then, President to complete the Games which was grossly over-budget from the initial costs. 

The taxpayer saved the Olympic Games from what was corruption, greed and misappropriations of funds. 

Mitt Romney failed to gather support from corporation sponsors to swing the costs to private businesses, which is one of the qualities he boasts about in his run for the 2012 Presidential Election. Had that been true, the taxpayer would not have been footing the bill for the entire project. 

Romney has no problem asking for a government bail out and no problem admitting he could not accomplish the task of funding the Winter Games. 

In this clip, Senator John McCain blows up on Romney’s pork barrel project and the failure to remain within budget. 

\In this same clip Mitt Romney calls it” Modest help when he asked Senator Bennett, a member of the Appropriations Committee for money”. Sen. Bill Bennett was the Republican Senator for the State of Utah, whom he worked with to get the massive bailout money during the Bush Administration. 

Apparently, Mitt Romney lobbied Hard for Money from Congress to bail him out, to fund the Olympics and to add to the National Debt, and in the end he credits himself for “Saving the Olympics” as he puts it.Romney: “I think he was thinking we were asking for 5 to 10 million, we asked for several hundred million dollars in help. Everything that was needed was ultimately obtained”. 

McCain: “…The American taxpayer has become by far, the largest single underwriter of the costs of hosting the Olympics”.We apologize for the audio quality, please adjust your ears, but this is well worth listening to as we continue to vet Mitt Romney for the Presidency of the United States. 

Click to see and hear McCain video 

As Senator John McCain points out: 

1) The 1984 Summer Olympics in LA received 75 Million Dollars in Federal Support.Compared to: 

2) The 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah received 1.3 Billion Dollars in Federal Support. (Final Total was 2.7 Billion) 

3) What the Money was Used for: 

• 91% in LA was for safety, Security, Safety 7% was non-security funding  

4) In Utah the 1.3 billion was spent on building Salt Lake City Infrastructure

$ 974,000 Utah Olympics Public Safety Command

$ 5 Million Dollars to Communications Agency Networks

$ 3 Million Dollars to Olympic Regional Development (Upgrades to Sports Complex)

$ 2.5 Million Dollars Bus Facilities

$ 2.5 Million Dollars to SLC regional parks ride lines

$ 500,000 SLC Transit Bus

$ 925,000 SLC Public Safety after the Olympics

$ 1 Million for SLC Security and Training

$ 2,200,000 for SLC Sewer Infrastructure Needs associated with the Games

 (snip) 

As Sen. McCain outlines, what began as corruption and bribery charges in Salt Lake City, before Mitt Romney took over, turned to massive paybacks, pork barrel for the City and friends of Mitt Romney. 

It was no surprise that the Salt Lake City association with the Mormon Church is the connection here to Romney and the pork barrel spending. Mitt Romney now donates stocks from Bain Capital regularly to the tax free status Mormon Church. 

President George Bush approved of Mitt Romney’s pork barrel spending, which included the construction of roads and bridges for the Olympics. 

If Salt Lake City needed 1.3 billion in infrastructure required to host the games, they never should have been chosen as a viable site to host the Games. 

In conclusion, Mitt Romney claims he will slash spending and reduce the deficit, when his track record shows he does not know how to budget. In his term as Gov. of Mass. he also left the state with a 5 billion dollar deficit. As a potential candidate, Romney’s record evolves around:  

The Romney Big Tax Payer Spending record and passing the costs on to the middle class who pay the volume of taxes to run this country are legendary. 

Although he makes false claims in the mainstream media, and they erroneously report “He saved the games in 2002″ the reality of what Romney did is a completely different story. 

What you hear on NBC, CBS, Fox News, and CNN the other faux news channel, is just one example of the fabricated misinformation on the reality of the big spending, bailout that Mitt Romney received as CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. 

This is the Reality of Mitt Romney’s Resume on the 2002 Winter Games- The Most Expensive Games in US History 

Excerpt:  See Politicol News 

Why all the lies by Romney and the people who surround him?  Do they honestly believe the truth will not come out in this campaign?  Did he figure people were just going to take him at his word which is worth nothing?  All questions without answers.


While watching a news show the other night they were talking about when President Bush would make a gaffe, you could see the moment on his face like he shouldn't have said that and joke about it.  When Romney gaffes he keeps on going and it doesn't bother him which is a little scary out of someone who wants to President who would be dealing with foreign leaders.  


Already it has come out that he lied about Netanyahu during the primary when he said he was good friends with him when it turns out they worked at the same place and Bibi may have known him.  Not like the best buds Romney portrayed: 

Netanyahu: Romney Lying About Their Friendship 

Imagine that -- Romney lied!  It came out two days ago from Netanyahu!