The pyramids are important for the Egyptian economy generally and tourism industry in particular. But that does not justify “public” “servants” forcefully taking money/liberty from taxpayers and workers. Same with the Sydney Opera House. “But the Opera House!” is the cry from Australians defending government subsidies of sport stadia. If there is a good business case for new/improved sporting infrastructure, then that means there is a good business case; and if there is no good business case, then that makes it an unwise investment. Either way, there is no justification for government involvement in sport, sport building or sport supporting. Here are some neglected Australian writings advocating separation of sport and state:

  1. Bert Kelly, “Heads roll — Mavis smells an election,” The Australian Financial Review, October 17, 1975, p. 3. Excerpt: “At best, he [Fred] said, international sport only fostered stupid, blind nationalism, and at worst, it led to bloodshed and international hatred.”
  2. Bert Kelly, “More funds to train Olympians?,” The Australian Financial Review, August 6, 1976, p. 4. Excerpt: “If we wanted to create goodwill we would ban all Government-backed international sporting events, not encourage them.” Another excerpt: “Governments have no proper place in the bedroom or on the sporting field either, no matter how popular such actions may be!”
  3. Bert Kelly, “The sporting camel in the tent of the taxpayer,” The Australian Financial Review, September 16, 1977, p. 3. Excerpt: “I read through the White Paper on sport and it is certainly a powerful document. For instance, in this one simply splendid sentence it pleads for Federal Government to pay for sport: ‘Sport is a way of life for Australians; they must not be denied this way of life.'”
  4. Bert Kelly, “Small government’s growth problem,” The Bulletin, February 17, 1981, p. 123. Excerpt: “Of the many examples of the government’s willingness to rush headlong into intervention, he [Eccles] chose its promises on expenditure on sport as the worst.”
  5. John Singleton’s 1977 pitch that he be on a committee of one to run the 1988 Sydney Olympics for profit — Mike Agostini, “Promoter sees profit in Games,” The Sun-Herald, April 17, 1977, p. 93.
  6. John Singleton with Bob Howard, Rip Van Australia (Stanmore: Cassell Australia, 1977), pp. 187-88, under the heading “Olympic Games”. Excerpt: “We only won a bronze medal in the relay, and it is therefore a matter of immediate and earth-shattering importance that the government dip into its bottomless pocket and shell out more of our money for facilities, trips and equipment for sports.”
  7. Viv Forbes, “Caught in a welfare whirlpool,” The Australian, July 11, 1986, p. 12, as a letter to the editor. Excerpt: “Taxes have consumed the carrot; welfare has broken the stick. This is why Australia can no longer compete, except in sport, where winners and losers are still allowed under the law.”
  8. Robert Haupt, “When politicians start jogging, run for your lives,” The Sydney Morning Herald, August 29, 1990, p. 4. Excerpt: “Indeed, so often and for so long did these leaders run that one sometimes wondered what the cumulative effect was on their brains — all that jiggling from all that jogging.”
  9. Frank Devine, “Watching cricket? No way, I’m studying it,” The Australian, January 13, 1992, p. 9. Excerpt: “In any case, it is a mistake to consider us mere hedonists welded to the small screen by Tendulkar’s off-driving and Dean Jones’s fielding, and the melodrama of winning and losing. For the most part we are intellectuals looking for a parable of our times in the success of our cricketers. In case you never guessed it.” And: “To climb from the pits to predominance the cricketers have employed quality control, competitiveness and incentive in a free-market context.” Devine does not use his arguments to justify all expenses spent on cricket being tax-deductible but that logically follows from his arguments.
  10. John Huxley, “Sinclair Hill: not your average bushie,” The Sydney Morning Herald, June 12, 1993, p. 39. Excerpt: “The death of the bush is the biggest calamity facing Australia today. We’ve got drought, recession, low commodity prices. People out there are starving, and what are our politicians all excited about? Winning the Olympics. Planting a few palm trees at Homebush.”
  11. Padraic P. McGuinness, “Let them swim nude,” The Australian Financial Review, September 16, 1988, pp. 92-91; see also Padraic P. McGuinness, “Check this, mate — nude chess,” The Sydney Morning Herald, December 4, 1999, p. 44.
  12. The Olympics: to nationalise or commercialise? — “Let’s give the Olympics a big miss,” The Sun-Herald, November 13, 1988, p. 48; and “Let the Games begin — in Athens,” The Sun-Herald, November 20, 1988, p. 50.
  13. Padraic P. McGuinness, “Warning: health is a budget hazard,” The Weekend Australian, August 1-2, 1992, p. 2. Excerpt: “The ‘healthy’ activities, while they may avert heart disease and some other complaints, such as diabetes, will give rise to a new set of complaints among the spavined struldbrugs, as a result of the injury strains of football, netball, jogging, aerobics, etc.”
  14. Sport as intellectual plaything, political football, business opportunity and social fabric — “Sport and business,” The Sydney Morning Herald, April 8, 1995, p. 38; and “A society’s foundations,” The Sydney Morning Herald, April 12, 1995, p. 18.
  15. Padraic P. McGuinness, “We should ban Olympics,” The Sydney Morning Herald, April 1, 2000, p. 46. Excerpt: “The whole area of competitive and spectator sports catering to humanity’s worst instincts and the wealth to be derived from it leads to the worst kind of human behaviour and abuse of the body. About the only kind that might seem exempt is physical exercise in a gym or by way of jogging. But as the entrepreneurs and ‘personal trainers’ of this business have now discovered, they are catering not to health or longevity but to narcissism and self-worship of the worst kind. That’s where their money comes from.”
  16. Padraic P. McGuinness, “It’s about money — and there’s nothing wrong with that,” The Sydney Morning Herald, September 28, 2000, p. 8. Excerpt: “They are marketing the prestige of the Cuban state, and are paid handsomely for this. What makes this any different from flogging sandshoes? Only one thing — you can move from one manufacturer to another without penalty; one would not want to be in the shoes of the Cuban athletes’ families if their champions should decide to defect. At least in the evil world of commerce and capitalism it is possible to transfer from one sponsor to another without penalty.”
  17. Benjamin Marks, “Sportfans should be libertarians,” Economics.org.au, July 1, 2010. Opposes grandstanding. Excerpt: “Separate sport and State. Sports should no longer receive tax money, be taxed or subject to any other government interference. Sport should not be used as a political football.”
  18. Neville Kennard, “Why Not the Drug Olympics?,” Economics.org.au, October 17, 2010. Excerpt: “The Olympics started in Athens; now Greece is broke and they need to try anything to pull in the crowds and the cash so they could create there the permanent venue for the Drug Olympics every four years. If it becomes really popular it could even become an annual event. Greece on steroids! Body, Mind and Drugs! Medicine, Money and Mayhem!”
  19. Neville Kennard, “Separating Sport and State,” Economics.org.au, December 9, 2010. Excerpt: “The latest sporting event to be pursued by governments around the world has been the Football World Cup for 2018 and 2022. Luckily, Australia missed out; but not before some very adept and polished lobbying by businessman and political benefactor Frank Lowy. No doubt a goodly amount of tax-payers’ money has already gone into the failed bid, but this is a lucky let-off for Aussie tax-payers. The congregation of the Church of Football (soccer, that is) would no doubt be disappointed that their local priests did not get to hold the services in their Australian temples.”
  20. David Sharp, “Introduction to Olympic Economics,” Economics.org.au, August 29, 2012. Excerpt: “In 2005 when London was awarded the Games, the projected cost was 2.4 billion pounds. Official cost is now put at 9.3 billion pounds. Critics maintain 18 billion pounds is more likely”.

And this 1993 Nike ad starring NBA basketballer Sir Charles Barkley MVP always deserves mention in these discussions: