Stupid, Greedy or Controlling?

Posted by George Lippencott October 11, 2009 at 1:21 p.m.

Recently there were some exchanges on “smart” growth. The idea of trying to reduce impact on our environment is unassailable. The approach to doing it is not! Retrospectively trying to “punish” people living in single family home is at best vindictive. Single-family homes were the American dream. The “smart” growth solution is to force people vertically into large apartment complexes. Shades of the Soviet Union with those massive centrally controlled housing units. Is this the best the “smart growth” community can envision?

How about “climate change”? Of course we need to address it! The solution, however, appears to be to raise the costs of almost every product produced in this country. Are our international competitors buying into this? Not on your life! We have 10% unemployment with a significant number of those on government “hand-outs” because the job they held is now gone – likely forever. So let us have more low paying service jobs so we can deny Americans the better paying “blue collar” jobs we used to have. Is there no better way to try to address climate change?

I could go on all day with initiatives by one group or another to make things “better”. All of them cost money. All of them will take that money from the American consumer. Yes, many of them are worthy to consider. Could it be possible that we might prioritize all these “initiatives" and address them over a longer period of time so we do not dramatically reduce our own standard of living at the same time as we drive much of our better paying jobs off-shore?

Why are we doing this? Are the people pushing these efforts too stupid to understand the consequences? Do too many of the people pushing these initiatives expect a direct benefit –are they simply greedy? Are these people into “control”? They seem to thrive on making their fellow citizens conform to their way of life. Are they in essence power hungry.

If we do not do something to stop this incessant demand for government intervention to change things at ever increasing cost to many if not most of us, will we find our children’s future what we would have it be? Are we headed for all the success demonstrated by the former Soviet Union with all the associated controls and inequities?

What do you think?

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jrlii (anonymous) says…

The hideous energy ineffeciency of high rise buildings is well known: Most have to run chillers to control heat gain even in sub-freezing weather.
October 11, 2009 at 10:14 p.m.
annemccracken (anonymous) says…

Do you have a link for "punish” people living in single family home" and "force people vertically into large apartment complexes"? I have not heard of this and I want to read more about it.
October 12, 2009 at 9:01 a.m.
Moderate (George Lippencott) says…

annemccracken (Anonymous) says…

Is there a link for everything? The smart growth links talk about central tendency (used a math term here). How do you plan on moving people back to the core unless you throw out those living there or go verticle?

As far as single family homes I recommend the LJW web site and the city commissioners. Frequent talk about the subject. The cost of electricity and water has already been adjusted to demand a disproportionate response from single family homes deemed by somebody to be too large.

jrlii (Anonymous) says…

And just how does Cap and trade solve this. The owners will simply buy carbon credits and pass the cost on to the tenants. No reduction in carbon. Of course, this is exactly what I am talking about in terms of "punishing" the innocent. The building was constructed consistent with the requirements of its time. It cost a lot of money. It had a lifetime of many many years. Now you want to retrospectively "punish" the owner for obeying the law.

There is plenty of emphasis on proactive energy efficiency such as building new "green buildings" and codes have been changed to require it. Forward looking rather then retroactive. We will all pay for this, too, because the best we can expect is the investment will minimize the increase in the cost of energy for the builder. That increase as well as the higher cost of the investment will be passed on to all of us.

Breaking our ties to fossil fule is not a simple task- although a necessary one. The faster we go the more the disruption. Do we have any patience???
October 12, 2009 at 9:46 a.m.
jayhawklawrence (anonymous) says…

You had my interest peaked until the last paragraph.

I think we have to be very careful about blaming "big government" for every act of stupidity.

If we swing the other way we end up with letting global sized companies run our lives. They are spending literally billions to push our buttons in the marketplace and at the polling places all the while telling their bought and paid for politicians what to say and how to say it.

Both political parties have failed us. Most people are caught in the mindset of blaming one or the other and what we have today is what we have.

I think what we need is better people in government and the admission that those present and accounted for are failures.

There are examples everyday in the news of how we continue to get the shaft. Look at the transport the air force wants to build. Now it looks like Air Bus is going to get it after all.

Sorry Wichita. Even our own military won't help us anymore.
October 12, 2009 at 10:06 a.m.
Moderate (George Lippencott) says…

jayhawklawrence (Anonymous) says…

I am not specifically blaming government. Mostly I am blaming those of us who do not think past the second sound bite.

Yes, corporations exploit us. i am not sure the cap and trade solves that. Even the health care debate is being driven by corporations that want relief from paying for health care. Now that they have little or no concern for the domestic market-why should they change? In much of the rest of the world exploitation is the rule.

I would suggest that among the electorate there is a basic misunderstanding of how our system works and a very deep subscription to a notion of victimization and the need for big government to solve everything.

Guess you can not really blame the elected officials for tapping that demand and using it to stay in office. The real problem is in the mirror!
October 12, 2009 at 10:52 a.m.
Moderate (George Lippencott) says…

Marion (Marion Lynn) says…

Well actually both can be correct.
October 12, 2009 at 3:25 p.m.
BigPrune (anonymous) says…

Question: Stupid, Greedy or Controlling?

Answer: all of the above

One doesn't have to travel far to see that smart growth doesn't work. Look at Lawrence's sinking ship that started taking on water almost 10 years ago.
October 13, 2009 at 10:47 p.m.