The Olympic Torch recently made its way to San Francisco for the upcoming games in China. Lots of security was needed, roads were blocked due to potential protests, and valuable taxpayer resources were temporarily diverted. I thought to myself, is this really needed? Do we need to use taxpayer money (police, etc) to watch someone run with the torch? Granted this is a very symbolic and historical event, but considering the current situation of our country, couldn't we have used this taxpayer money in a different way?

It is possible that the IOC or some other entity funds this event. If so, I am in the wrong here, but I highly doubt that someone would fully fund this event or even know the full cost of this event.

Switching gears, someone can make the argument that this is a boost to the local economy, but I still would imagine the cost of this event outweighs the benefit.