With practices like 'planned obsolescence' and 'manufactured
scarcity' being a part of the every day lexicon of modern day marketing
strategists, it's not implausible to think that similarly nefarious schemes
will eventually begin to permeate public sector planning as well.
The 90 day warranty is a testament to the existence of planned
obsolescence. I’m merely speculating here, but I imagine that manufacturers use
statistical data to determine things like consumer tolerance thresholds for
their products.
An article in The Edmonton Journal today, “Crowded new
schools weigh options” led me to construct the following crude diagram:
Weighing options, reviewing analysis, forming committees,
holding discussions, and hiring consultants; supposed action to public outcry
that seems to me like more of an ends to a mean than a means to an end! If the
people occupying positions of public trust aren’t all utterly incompetent,
unthinking boobs, then they must have secretive guidelines to ensure their own
survival. Something like:
How can we, as
entrusted civic planners, see to it that these resolutions will only lead to
eventual greater problems that begin to unfold far enough down the road that our
office is unlikely to be scrutinized for such undesirable outcomes? We, as
entrusted civic planners, must remain vigilant in our unofficial mandate to
evoke maximum public dissatisfaction from the outcomes of our planning decisions.
Only strict adherence to these guidelines will fortify our institution by
avoidance of invalidating our own existence as solutions providers.
Perhaps a tad far-fetched, but sometimes you’ve just got to
scratch your head when they start crying for more tax dollars.
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