Lots of people have Hope for Change and believe that an attitude of Yes We Can is all that’s really needed for the future to become a bright sunshiny day filled with daisies and puppies and low-cost, high quality smack.
History, however, is replete with examples of grand visions that fell flat because of either an insufficient understanding of the complexity of the issues… or because of con jobs. Take, for example, the Space Shuttle. While it remains a remarkable example of engineering, it is not what it was sold as. It was supposed to be dirt cheap ($25 million per flight in early-’70’s money), and easy to maintain. Two weeks sitting in a hangars, with some greasemonkeys tinking with it, and it’ll be good to go. No sweat, no problem. See how easy it will be:
But the reality turned out to be just a little more costly, complicated and time consuming. Instead of weeks, months to years. Instead of a basic facility, a complex single-function facility. Instead of a few techs, a standing army. Instead of low cost, half a billion dollars a pop.
This sort of thing should be a lesson for those selling massive government bailouts… or indeed any government program whatsoever. But somehow these lessons never sink in.
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