Welcome back to the Bull Pen. We survived 2008 and now can officially start the countdown clock to riding season once again. My name is Dean Akey and I will be your guide thru another fun filled edition. Are you ready? Let's get started.
It's friggin freezing out there.... Where is all of this global warming Al Gore promised us? I was listening to Jay Leno and I think he summed up our cold weather best by saying "it was so cold in Chicago that Governor Rod Blagojevich had his hands in his own pockets for once".... I couldn't have said it any better Jay.
As I mentioned above, we survived 2008 but just barely. It's amazing how quickly our economy went into the crapper. Harley Davidson's stock has dropped 60% in the past few months and don't even get me started with the mess our auto makers are in. Now we will see if the bazillions of tax dollars we invested in these bailouts actually work to get this train rolling once again.
In 2008 we all felt the direct impact of a bum economy. There is some hope on the horizon for a much quicker recovery for the greater Chicago metropolitan area. The hope I am speaking about is the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Now I have never been a big fan of the Olympics and think some of the things they give medals for are just silly. Badminton? Give me a break. How about medals for Jarts or the bean bag game called Corn Hole?
So why am I a fan of having the 2016 Olympic Games in Chicago? That's an easy one; it's for what it would do to our economy. Recently, an independent economic-impact study commissioned Tootelian & Associates to quantify the economic effects on the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago from hosting the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
So what's the damage? Should Chicago be successful in hosting the 2016 summer Olympics the study found that the Games are expected to stimulate $22.5 billion of incremental economic activity in the State of Illinois - $13.7 billion in the city of Chicago alone - during the 11-year span of 2011 through 2021.
The study also found that 315,000 new job-years will be created during this period. Just think of what putting 315,000 local folks to work would do. This would be a major shot in the arm for all of us.
The International Olympic Committee will decide which city will host the 2016 Summer Olympics early in October 2009 so keep your fingers crossed.
So is there a downside to hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics? Of course there is. With billions of dollars in investment into Illinois our politicians will be in a feeding frenzy. I bet Governor Rod Blagojevich will really hate missing out on this one but I hear he may have reservations up north at the Governors ward in Oxford Federal Prison.
As you can probably tell, I am quite upset over the whole Blagojevich dealio and the current state of disrepair with Illinois politics. In hopes of restoring my faith in our political system and the Governors office I put myself to task. I decided to research our current Governor to see what I could discover to help me feel at peace. I looked thru his accomplishments to date and couldn't find that one thing that made me think that at some point this guy was working for us...
I kept up my search and broadened my definition of accomplishments and finally was able to find one thing that made me happy. You see as a kid I have the greatest memories of my parents taking us to a restaurant on Sunday's after Church. It was always the same restaurant and yes, every time I see Blagojevich it brings back all of those wonderful memories....
When I am not sharing my wisdom with you via my Thunder Roads editorials or running the Rescue Rider program, I run an insurance agency west of Chicago. I enjoy working with fellow bikers helping you protect what matters most. If I can help you please drop me a note at deanakey@allstate.com or give me a call at 877-232-9899. Until next month, enjoy the ride.
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