Because the US is the last nation to carry on the original ideal of the first Olympic games in Athens in 1896 where all the athletes were amateurs. However politics got in the way and the leaders of nations turned the Olympics into "My wee wee is bigger than your wee wee" contest. Nazi Germany and the Communist Bloc nations were the biggest abusers and it was the Communist nations that were using steriods, hormones and doping first.Originally Posted by Sootan
In the case of the East German female swim team they had the biggest wee wees every time.
So, pray tell, how does U.S.'s "taxes and/or system" made these athletes or how they "rely on a 'system'."
...So what part of "dependent on private contributions and corporate sponsorship" did you miss? Private contributions like, oh, lets say, an endowment named the US Olympic Foundation, or the William E. Simon Olympic Endowment, or the Ann Hoyt Legacy Fund, etc. So, where is the relation to this "taxes and government" you brought up?
And once again, boo hoo wah wah. Maybe the US should stop trying to win everything and field competitors in nearly everything and just do a few things well. Those without spots can chase private sponsorship or *shock horror* get a job.
Well actually I was speaking on the Australian context. Didn't actually say USA. Plus they still should pay tax, why are athletes exempt?
...So what part of "dependent on private contributions and corporate sponsorship" did you miss? Private contributions like, oh, lets say, an endowment named the US Olympic Foundation, or the William E. Simon Olympic Endowment, or the Ann Hoyt Legacy Fund, etc. So, where is the relation to this "taxes and government" you brought up?
Federal money was put into a foundation. If not spent this money would have gone back into the coffers of the state. Thus by starting a foundation with it, federal funding is not put into athletes, yet in a round about way it is. Without federal money to invest, it would not have any money to spend. As a foundation it is most likely not for profit, thus it is neither technically private nor corporate. It is no different to the government having a fighting fund for athletes, but in this case it was funded by surplus which they had allocated, and invested and undoubtedly would have spent in any case.surplus funding from the 1984 summer games
Thus by default it is federal money but politicians can't have say in where it goes. Where would the $60+ million come from if it were not for federal start-up money? Moreover, are you saying people should be exempt from earnings irrespective of the soruce of the earnings? The 1% would be happy to hear.
At the end of the day, on a per capita basis your population means that funding and sponsorship is not really an issue. Therefore sponsorship and other funds are income, thus the crying poor elements, particularly for the gold medallists is interesting to say the least. They are no different to anyone else who is taxed for prizes overseas.
BTW your quoting Wiki as gospel.
Last edited by T3ngu; 08-02-2012 at 06:22 AM.
There's federal money in everything. I'm sure, in some round-about-way, there's federal money in my coffee cup from some grant or relief some congressman stuck into some spending bill to boost the businesses in his district.
I didn't see Seiyuuki ever argue that the athletes should be exempt from taxes. He merely corrected the misconception that our athletes (as in the United States Olympic Team) are state-supported in the way many other countries' athletes are.
Prove the foundation's money are federal inputs that would have "gone back into the coffers" if not fully spent instead of it being a contractual division of revenues before hand between several NGOs.
L.A. the Best Site, Bid Group Insists
No Olympics, No Problem: New York City’s Political Regime after the Bid for the 2012 GamesAs in 1984, the Games would have been privately financed.
The fundamental change for the event was that the bid came almost exclusively from the private sector through the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG).A referendum that prevented Los Angeles from using any of its tax revenues to organize the games passed overwhelmingly in November 1978 (LAOOC)Yet, the IOC made a major exception to this rule to allow Los Angeles to host the Games with no guarantees of financial liability from any level of government (LAOOC).The only two newly constructed venues were the Velodrome, funded by 7-Eleven, and the Swim Stadium, funded by McDonald's.Also an important change in these Olympics was the massive expansion of private sponsorship and TV rights. [...] The combination of concessions by the IOC, private sponsorship and television rights led to the success of the Los Angeles Olympics.
BTW, learn about citation.
2. ^"U.S. Funding of Olympic Athletes."Despite this federal mandate, it receives no continuous financial assistance from the U.S. government. As a non-profit organization, the USOC is wholly dependent on private contributions and corporate sponsorship.[2]
Unlike most national Olympic committees, USOC receives no continuous federal government subsidy, relying instead on corporate and individual contributions and on the proceeds of its direct marketing program.
Damn, Michael Phelps could pay off the entire ****ing US debt at this rate
Phelps and others like him are the exception though... syncronous swimmers, trampoline jumpers and so on can not live by their sports even if they are the best in the world.
So? At the end of the day they're earning an income overseas. Even the lowest ranked (hence, earning) tennis players have to pay tax when on tour even though they might be bringing in **** all.
Yeah give those who suck a chance you're hurting their self-esteem.
If we look at medals per capita the US came 31st at Beijing 33rd at Athens and 33rd at Syndey.Yeah give those who suck a chance you're hurting their self-esteem.
Wouldn't higher population countries (9-10 digits range) always be nearer toward the bottom of the rankings...After all, there are a finite amount of sports at the Olympics, so those countries like the U.S., China, India, etc. will never be near the top unless they somehow win all three medals in 90%+ of the events.
No, Corrupt is correct. I don't know why other nations even bother to show up when the Bahamas is in da house!
By the way, there are limits in how many athletes can compete in various sports from a given country. For example, in tennis, only a country's top 4 make it into the draw, even if that country has more athletes that would otherwise qualify by ranking for the olympics. This adversely affects the medal hopes of well-stocked nations like Russia and the United States. If you're into math or economics, there's probably an optimal population figure, given the number of sports and their qualification quotas, to 'dominate' the medals by population table.No, Corrupt is correct. I don't know why other nations even bother to show up when the Bahamas is in da house!
Wat? I almost had a stroke...you know that the first formalized college scholarships for sports (IE get tuition for just being an athelete) were so by the US in the late 19th century? As such US athletes are nowhere near amateurism. In fact most rules for track and field in the US were written by Student Athletes. Furthermore, by late 1920 most US athletes had already endorsments...IE money paid for them to show off products.Because the US is the last nation to carry on the original ideal of the first Olympic games in Athens in 1896 where all the athletes were amateurs. However politics got in the way and the leaders of nations turned the Olympics into "My wee wee is bigger than your wee wee" contest. Nazi Germany and the Communist Bloc nations were the biggest abusers and it was the Communist nations that were using steriods, hormones and doping first.
In the case of the East German female swim team they had the biggest wee wees every time.
As for the doping and abuse, the first case of doping was Thomas Hicks...the American winner of the 1904 marathon. Frankly, saying the Nazis and communists were the most serious offenders of PED is absolutely ridiculous. Especially since the doping in Commbloc countries was relatively crude.
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