Is the amount of resources devoted to the Olympic Games getting out of control?

Well, the summer Olympic Games are over. I enjoyed watching some of it on television, but now I feel a bit guilty!

The August 18th issue of Business Week contains an article which states that $6.5 billion was spent on security for the Games in China. It goes on to say that much of that has gone to foreign firms, which suggests to me that the $6.5 billion was real money as opposed to an internal accounting figure.

Wow, that's enough to finance a small war or make a dent in any of the world's pressing problems. According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, $6.5 billion is more than Sweden's projected military spending in 2008. The United Nations Peacekeeping Operations budget in the current fiscal year is only slightly more: $7.1 billion.

The money spent on the Olympic Games sure seems out of control here.