All I Want for Christmas

I was reading The Boston Globe this morning and was pleased to see a page one article by Casey Ross and Todd Wallack that addressed one of the most glaring deficiencies of the government’s stimulus package: the fact that very little of the $787B funding is directed at building construction.

They noted that in Massachusetts alone, the program has provided $437M for road construction, but limited funds for buildings. They also, quite correctly, pointed out that the construction {or renovation} of a building provides more jobs for more people for a longer period of time than a comparable road construction project. Oddly, while the authors lamented the 20% unemployment level in the construction industry, they failed to mention the catastrophic impact that the lack of building funding is having on the design industry’s employment levels. Simply put, there are now more architects and engineers out of work in the New England region than at any time in recent memory. Many estimate the figure at more than 30%. Recently the AIA told congress that all it wants for Christmas is for them to redirect stimulus funding toward vertical, rather than horizontal, construction.

I hope Santa is listening!

Mae West

Recently, the newspapers and the evening news have both reported extensively on the financial problems plaguing certain real estate developers in the Middle East. The extent of the credit problem may approach a figure that is eerily similar in scope to the Bernie Madoff scandal which was also fueled by the irrational exuberance of investors. The former crisis may yet be resolved by the timely intervention of the local banking system, while the latter is unlikely to ever be reconciled to anyone’s satisfaction.

Yesterday I was watching TV and happened to catch a few minutes of a classic Mae West movie – My Little Chickadee. I was reminded of one of Mae’s favorite lines: “too much of a good thing is never enough”! I wonder if that bird would be singing the same song today.