I want my money back !

Last night I sat watching the opening ceremony of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, especially because there was nothing else decent on TV at the time.

And as predicted, it was indeed a big spectacle. Spectacularly wierd, arty and pointless if you ask me. I mean what the hell do koalas and clowns and motorcycles and ballerinas have to do with the Games ?

What was the point of all that opening sequence ?

There were some more enjoyable parts, such as watching former athletes and footballers get involved in carrying the torch. And yeah, the athletes from all these tiny and poor places I've never heard of came marching out proudly when their country was announced. But seriously, whats the challenge of winning a gold medal when you're not competing against USA, Russia, Germany, China or Japan ?!

Anyways, I'm completely against the Commonwealth Games. I wouldn't pay a dollar for this whole waste of time if I had a choice. Last night over $50mil was spent on the opening. And I had to watch old fart Ray Martin declare that its certainly been worth spending $500mil on upgrading the stadium for this. ARGH !!

If its worth it Ray, then why wouldn't some private entrepeneur or venture capitalist raise the money in the free market ?

Like I said, I wouldn't pay for the Games if I had the choice. But with a rampant, ever expanding socialist tax system, every working Australian and especially every Victorian was forced to fork out. Don't get me wrong, the fireworks looked great and spectacular. But if forced to decide, I would rather keep the money spent myself. Even if I had to spend the $50mil, it could sure feed a lot of homeless people, pay a lot of bills, pay for urgent operations.

But if you're not a libertarian like myself, then hey, don't worry, just trust Mr Bracks to keep on spending your money.
[/sarcasm off].

Nealry all working people have the libertarian impulse, but they don't fully realise it. We all complain about government spending on things that don't meet our preferences. We all complain about taxes being too high. And yet very few people put 2 + 2 together and realise we should keep the money and spend it on what we value. Its a simple and elegant idea.