Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski
Sometimes standing on the grand entrance to some massive federal courthouse I wonder what this will all look like in 50 years. Unless something major changes how can the US Gov ever build stuff like this again?
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Two ways I can see:
War occurs and we wind up on top once more, controlling global economy and sucking all the money out of it like we did after WWII. Unlikely.
Private money is put to use to build these things, as is done in Europe. Also unlikely because we're too addicted to the idea that all such projects require exclusively public money, which means large tax increases.
But also ask this question: Why do we need these grand edifices? Why do we need skyscrapers? Why so much commercial r/e at all? We're interconnected as though we're standing next to each other by a little device that sits in our pockets. Why waste so many natural resources building structures we don't need? Why not just focus on the essential infrastructure (bridges, roads, dams, water treatment plants, sewer systems, airports, train lines, etc.)?
There's a giant set of Comcast buildings in downtown Philly. Ugly as fuck testaments to the Roberts' families' egos. Carbon footprint is staggering. Why? And why two? Was one giant phallus (a lot of which is wasted empty space, btw) that'll be ripped down in 80 years not enough?
California can't justify high speed rail, but all across this nation we're putting up office buildings for workers who increasingly work from home? For what reason? So more people can wreck the environment commuting to some plastic chair in an office suite constructed of petroleum based products?
AOC's Green New Deal is pie in the sky, but she has a point on air travel, car travel, and office buildings. Why not think big again and develop high speed rail to criss-cross the country, and upgrade the regular rail we already have? Not only is this environmentally friendly, but it would also help the dying hamlets in flyoverland. Create some jobs for the people who'd otherwise expire in opioid dens.
In 50 years, if people still have to "show up at the office" and do anything close to a 40 hour work week, we'll have totally lost any hope of realizing the benefits of technology Keynes envisioned. And we'll have certainly proven the axiom that natural selection does not favor the smartest or fittest, and evolution does not improve the human race, but can actually degrade the shit out of it... If the right dumb people remain in the right positions, supporting the same stupid policies -- most notably, The Protestant Work Ethic, the idea every minute you're not being productive is a minute of life wasted, and the notion every CEO should have the right to leave a Pyramid behind.
