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MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

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Re: MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

#161
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's been a grand fiscal policy experiment over the last 12 years unlike anytime before. It has resulted in every asset class losing price discovery mechanisms and basically becoming untethered from fundamentals. Nobody knows how this will end, or when. Could be months, could be decades.

Relax and enjoy the MMT, friend. Worked for the Romans! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5386693ce4b05d183bf2d...

Worked for hundreds of years, right?

Re: MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

#162

While I feel sorry for the people that put the energy to make this happen and also for the people that may lose their jobs this month over this, as a native inhabitant of Barcelona, I can only celebrate the news, even if it is for this terrible reason. When MWC is ocurring in Barcelona, public transport (subway) goes on strike (because of the maximum impact). But usually this only fucks over non MWC attending people,…

You never really know what you've got till it's gone. A hundred thousand visitors eating, drinking, commuting, sightseeing, dwelling, and flying about in your city in a short period of time.....for many cities that would be a welcome occurrence (apart from the traffic woes). It's about $500m Euros of revenue, and I saw an estimate of something like 15k part-time jobs due to MWC. No small thing.

I'm also in BCN and everyone always says that but I'm not sure I buy it.

I mean, yeah, some guys benefit from having the MWC for sure but I'm not sure most residents do - I'm not letting out flats or running venues etc. I'm trying to get to work on time and pay my rent.

It reminds me of the similar arguments people make about the big cruise ships that come here - I mean sure, it massively benefits tourist attractions and restaurants etc. but most citizens don't see any of that money, they just get lungfuls of air pollution.

Re: MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

#163
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could the Olympics be postponed a year? There's no president for this, but if the disease can't be contained, it seems prudent. I was planning on visiting Japan this summer. Now I'm somewhat hesitant to do any travel.

I assume you mean precedent, and there is something of a precedent with the 1940 Summer Olympics.

The 1940 Summer Olympics was cancelled, not postponed.

Re: MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

#164
post #88
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The flu, in Catalonia, this week has reached figures of 360 cases / 100,000 inhabitants: more than 120 times higher than the incidence of COVID-19 infection in China.[1] We need to stop comparing this to the flu. The flu is an established widespread virus with a very low mortality rate. This is a new, so far still spreading, virus with what appears to be a high mortality rate. If you had to choose between being inf…

The Spanish flu had a mortality of 10-20%. Everything points to this thing having a mortality similar to the seasonal flu.

The problem is that the mortality rate might seem lower than it actually is as it takes time for people to die after the infection is identified. Comparing the number of peopl infected upto today and number of deaths upto today is not a correct comparison. A two week delay in the stats should give you a better idea of the mortality rate.

One more pandemic like the flu to contend with is also not a good idea.

Re: MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

#165
post #149

While I feel sorry for the people that put the energy to make this happen and also for the people that may lose their jobs this month over this, as a native inhabitant of Barcelona, I can only celebrate the news, even if it is for this terrible reason. When MWC is ocurring in Barcelona, public transport (subway) goes on strike (because of the maximum impact). But usually this only fucks over non MWC attending people,…

Where does that attitude towards tourism come from? I know this is politics but other places would welcome tourism and professional conferences with open arms. When I see a group of tourists cueing in front of something in Copenhagen - sure - I might get annoyed but those people are bringing in money. Not to me personally. But that tourist money gets taxed or spent again. And ultimately it ends up being spent on a ni…

Really, I'm all for responsible tourism. Tourism is very good for the local economy when it is done properly. But it must come with regulation to avoid encouraging foreign companies (or local, doesn't matter) buying all houses/apartments and then renting them mainly to tourists for a much higher price than locals can pay. Since Barcelona hosts a very high volume of tourists, they can afford to do this almost the whole year.

Please understand, I'm not complaining about tourists (although they come with their own problems, like a 24/7 unwelcome festive ambient in residential neighborhoods...), I'm complaining on how Barcelona is not able to absorb that massive amount of tourism and how it makes lives miserable for local residents, that are pushed out of the city because it is far more beneficial to land-owners to rent to tourists, and how restaurants/shops push prices up too, and how the center of the city is no longer targeted towards locals. And much of the city center's businesses are no longer locally-owned and bring outside supply chains and may employ non local people, so it is not even that beneficial to the community as a whole.

Yes, jobs are created, but tourism-related jobs are not famous for their ability for employees to be able to live in the city itself.

I know this is a local politics problems, one of electing people that will do the right thing, but it's not that easy unfortunately, since voting in spain is very polarized on ideological and tribal feelings. And meanwhile, locals will just suffer the negative aspect of all this while benefiting little.

Re: MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

#166

While I feel sorry for the people that put the energy to make this happen and also for the people that may lose their jobs this month over this, as a native inhabitant of Barcelona, I can only celebrate the news, even if it is for this terrible reason. When MWC is ocurring in Barcelona, public transport (subway) goes on strike (because of the maximum impact). But usually this only fucks over non MWC attending people,…

It is very trendy for Barcelona residents (I am one also) to moan about the MWC or ‘gentrification’. It is less trendy to complain about the relatively low unemployment and well-maintained civic infrastructure; both of which are boosted by a strong international business presence which employs a lot of people and brings a lot of wealth to the city. Losing that international presence risks turning the city back to the…

I find it unfair to call it moaning as is if its a childish reaction. Most of my friends can no longer afford to live in the city itself with their non-IT jobs. The gentrification process is a real thing happening right now with very real consequences.

I guess that MWC is not the problem per se. And it is part of the reason of the exploding international presence at least in the IT sector. But it is part of the problem of the worsening in the quality of life for many people.

My argument is that much of the wealth generated by tourism doesn't necessarily benefit citizens of Barcelona. I'm sure a lot of people are getting a lot of benefits, but I'm not sure it is the people that need it the most.

Re: MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

#167

This is a very sad news for the city of Barcelona and for everyone involved in organizing or exhibiting. But that was the right choice. I'm wondering what's next to be cancelled.

Olympics are this summer, could be at risk if it hasn't been contained by then, especially given the proximity of Japan to China/mainland asia.

So far they say they're "not being considered", which is quite worrying if that means they're not even planning ahead to it as a possible outcome. I sure hope they make the right decision if it becomes necessary, instead of forcing through due to being too preoccupied with national/personal pride.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/canceling-tokyo...

Re: MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You never really know what you've got till it's gone. A hundred thousand visitors eating, drinking, commuting, sightseeing, dwelling, and flying about in your city in a short period of time.....for many cities that would be a welcome occurrence (apart from the traffic woes). It's about $500m Euros of revenue, and I saw an estimate of something like 15k part-time jobs due to MWC. No small thing.

I'm also in BCN and everyone always says that but I'm not sure I buy it. I mean, yeah, some guys benefit from having the MWC for sure but I'm not sure most residents do - I'm not letting out flats or running venues etc. I'm trying to get to work on time and pay my rent. It reminds me of the similar arguments people make about the big cruise ships that come here - I mean sure, it massively benefits tourist attractions…

Do you understand how economics works? When money from outside your city is spent in your city, that is a huge net benefit to everyone.

Re: MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume you mean precedent, and there is something of a precedent with the 1940 Summer Olympics.

The 1940 Summer Olympics was cancelled, not postponed.

They were rescheduled (and relocated to Helsinki) first, so the Olympics have been rescheduled before. (On re-reading about it I now realise they were pre-poned, not post-poned, though!) And yes, they were subsequently canceled.

Re: MWC 2020 canceled over coronavirus health concerns

#170
post #149

While I feel sorry for the people that put the energy to make this happen and also for the people that may lose their jobs this month over this, as a native inhabitant of Barcelona, I can only celebrate the news, even if it is for this terrible reason. When MWC is ocurring in Barcelona, public transport (subway) goes on strike (because of the maximum impact). But usually this only fucks over non MWC attending people,…

Where does that attitude towards tourism come from? I know this is politics but other places would welcome tourism and professional conferences with open arms. When I see a group of tourists cueing in front of something in Copenhagen - sure - I might get annoyed but those people are bringing in money. Not to me personally. But that tourist money gets taxed or spent again. And ultimately it ends up being spent on a ni…

From what I've read about Barcelona, it's more like living in a Disneyland, every day you're just swimming in crowds of tourists, from all over the world, bringing their idiosyncrasies. All (or a lot) of the shops are shops selling touristic trinkets. Want to eat at that nice restaurant? It's crowded, with loud Americans and Brits. 7 nights a week...
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