In Mourning
We just lost the America’s Cup by 1 second.
What can I say?
Posted by
at
15:29:59
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Comments
We just lost the America’s Cup by 1 second.
What can I say?
How about:
“Maybe the New Zealand government should’ve used that $34 million on Health or Education instead of a yacht race…”
have fun in Portugal
I seriously am with mark… Kudos
Lisa
While I agree with you in principle, the reality of the situation is more complex.
It is possible for states to spend their entire budget on health and/or education and still not get it right by a long stretch. In the NZ health budget, $34 million would add only 0.0032% to the total, while in the education budget it adds 0.0059%. Such a small amount in relation to the total makes it incredibly difficult to spend effectively.
When making decisions on budget allocations, it’s about maximising welfare and ensuring effective spending. While I agree NZAID could really have done with that $34 million, it appears a huge number of New Zealanders all over the world were keen enough on watching the America’s Cup and seeing us do well that a government injection of cash would benefit the “happiness” of Kiwis worldwide. I know from watching the AC website that there were Kiwis everywhere sending in messages of support. We’re a sporting nation, whether we like it or not, and this event is the oldest active trophy in international sport. We’re a sailing nation and we need to show young sailors that there is something to aspire to.
I guess what I’m saying is that it’s a smart move for a Government that wants to invest in something we do well in (we won the Louis Vuitton Cup after all), in nationalism, and in providing something to aspire to for New Zealand’s young sailors. One can always say “the money should have been spent in x and y”, but it’s more difficult in this case to say that the money could have been spent more effectively in x and y.