SEA Games: Lao Pride or Boondoggle?

The New York Times recently did an article on the upcoming SEA Games that examined the massive debt that Laos is taking on to host the festivities.

While I hear many people in the community excited and interested in going, I'm also deeply concerned by the economic and socio-political costs of the SEA Games. Is this the wisest venture and the best return on the limited resources the country has to spend? Thomas Fuller writes:

"But so far the greatest legacy of the games is a record deficit that has forced the country to seek emergency loans and strike secretive deals that give away large swaths of land."

The article goes in further detail, and they're quite troubling. I'm going to be very interested in seeing what the final outcomes are for Laos in terms of what's changed over the long-run. But in the meantime, here's the ad:

Safe travels to everyone who goes!