US Can't afford to boycott Beijing Olympics

Boycott Beijing Olympics is a buzz word that does not belong to ordinary Americans. Boycott 2008 Olympics simply based on one sided stories from His Holiness Dalai Lama and his elite Tibetan exile government can be very dangerous to US economy and to endanger our daily life too.

While the media was excited about boycott Olympics in China we have to face the reality and truth. We cannot afford and we are not ready to boycott Olympics this time.

Here is why.

From the prospective of economy recovery, “we cannot afford to the chance that China may pull back its part in financing of the U.S. national debt - the U.S. economy is simply held hostage not just by the foreign dictators who control the U.S. economy via oil, but also those who control the U.S. economy via the mounting national debt which is resulting in the declining dollar on the world currency exchanges. More significantly, the US relies on China for the manufacturing and distribution of consumer goods - while China relies on the US as a market for its goods, the US economy relies on Chinese goods far more for its economic stability and growth, as low priced goods have played a significant role in the growth of the buying power in the U.S.”

“Billions and billions of dollars have already been invested in the Olympics in the form of sponsorships and broadcast / reporting rights, which is also why the U.S. simply cannot afford to boycott the China Olympics, especially considering the failure of the total Olympics boycott by the Carter administration.”

“If, for example, there was a U.S. consumer boycott of the Olympics, a 10% drop in anticipated television viewership could have a devastating effect on the return on investment of some advertisers, and a 20% drop would not just mean that television broadcasters may lose significant revenue, but also that advertisers and sponsors may not see the return on their investment either. In the case of television, there is a significant upfront investment to broadcast the Olympics which must be met just to break even, and the same applies to official sponsors.

“In essence, China has been very concerned about its image and is doing everything in its power to put on a dog and pony show, while at the same time the U.S. businesses, thus the US economy, can not afford a sluggish return on investment in the China Olympics, despite geopolitical concerns, especially for the Republicans before just before the presidential elections.”

From the prospective of ordinary Americans, many of us not even “qualify” to boycott the Games, except just doing some lip services claim we boycott Olympics.

Let’s do a quick math of how expensive to going to Beijing and watch the games.

Air tickets – From what it shows on United Air’s website today, one round way economy class ticket from Denver to Beijing for a three weeks trip on early August is around $3,000, not including hotels and transportations to the Games, not to mention the tickets to the games either.

I also searched on www.expedia.com for a whole package deal. It roughly is between $10,000 for cheaper hotels and multiple stops to as high as $40,000 for a much luxury trip.

Tickets to the Games – The officially face value of the Opening Ceremony is about $636, the most expensive in Olympic history. Plus if you want to watch other games, it would be around extra $15,000 just for the tickets to the games. You may expect to get scalped if you have not get them yet.

These are not even taken into considerations of local travel and daily meals during the games. Most people would take this chance to go to other part of China to experience the different cultures, or even may want to go to Tibet themselves to see what is actually going on by their own eyes, if majority local Tibetans really want to be independent or just those His Holiness Dalai Lama’s exile elite and previous top class landowners and slave masters want to restore their lost power in Tibet, or if the local Tibetans have a better or worse live, etc.

If people book their trip on Expedia for a cheaper package, plus the tickets to the games, and other travel expenses, it would be roughly around $20,000 - $30,000 per person very easily, unless you go backpacking for most part of your trip.

Be honest, how many ordinary American families living on pay checks can afford such an expensive trip actually going to the Olympics this summer on their own after tax expense?

All in all, boycott Olympics to most us is just a lip service without spending a penny. Easy said than done. It is not going to buy us a ticket or even a meal for a day.

Boycott Olympics or boycott Chinese goods does not belong to ordinary Americans but politicians trying to take advantage out of it, or those who are trying to influence their opinions upon our minds.

Sports is sports.
Politics is politics.
Religion is religion.

They are three totally separate and different things. Don not mess them up.

It just like religion can be messed up with politics either, sports can not be messed up with politics, unless you want us human kind go back to what happened in medieval Europe. Don’t forget that why our forefathers took May Flowers coming to this piece of land call America.

Are we willing spin back the history wheel? If not, then why are we forcing Chinese accept it?

The real issue of Tibet is His Holiness Dalai Lama’s current THEOCRACY system. With no disrespect to himself, he can be either a good religious leader, or a good political leader, but not BOTH. I like him personally, but it does not necessary means I agree with his political ideas.

Why can’t he be both religious and political leader? The answer is very simple: It is called Dictatorship. It does not meet our standards of Democracy.