The American government paid billions of dollars to Americans to put asbestos insulation in their homes, in order to save energy. Then it paid Americans trillions of dollars to take asbestos out of their homes, because asbestos causes cancer! This shows that government should stay out of the construction business. Barroso introduces new stupid regulations every single day. The day will come when Barroso will dictate how we should bush-patrol, siphon our python, or drain our lizard! http://venitism.blogspot.com
Nevertheless, the European Commission, in its infinite stupidity meddles in construction. Low energy buildings with high CO2 and energy cost saving potential still have a limited market uptake, despite their economic and environmental advantages. Construction comprises of more than 10% of total employment in the EU. Therefore, to promote the construction sector as a driving force in the creation of jobs and for sustained growth for the economy in general, the European Commission tabled today a stupid strategy to boost the sector.
Orthodoxies are traditional and established beliefs. Most environmental orthodoxies have major drawbacks. They usually overlook the biophysical factors and adaptive practices. The usual orthodoxies of desertification, deforestation, soil erosion, and climate change have major faults. They are mostly the result of nature, not of human activity!
The stupid strategy's main elements include stimulating favourable investment conditions, in particular in the renovation and maintenance of buildings. For example, encouraging the take up of the package of up to 120 billion in loans available from the European Investment Bank (EIB) as part of June's Pact for Growth and Employment. Secondly, boosting innovation and improving worker's qualifications by promoting mobility. Thirdly, improving resource efficiency, by promoting mutual recognition of sustainable construction systems in the EU. Fourthly, providing standard design codes of practice to construction companies making it easier for them to work in other Member States. Finally, fostering the global position of European construction enterprises to stimulate good performance and sustainable construction standards in third countries.
At a meeting in 1680 between the French finance minister Colbert and a group of French businessmen led by Le Gendre, Colbert asked how the French state could be of service to the merchants and help promote their commerce. Le Gendre replied simply Laissez-nous faire, Let us do. Laissez-faire is now a synonym of pure capitalism.
Antonio Tajani, Barroso's whipping boy for industry, says: In the current severe economic and social crisis, low energy buildings are safe and viable investments for society and private investors. The construction sector should see this as an opportunity to innovate and attract new talent. New technologies offer major potential, not only for new houses, but also for renovating millions of existing buildings to make them highly energy efficient in line with the EU 2020 objectives. Let's not miss this opportunity. The construction sector can become a driver of sustainable growth.
Socialists and radical environmentalists have been trying for decades to reshape communities to conform to their preferred pseudosmart-growth policies. These advocates work to impose land use regulations that would force citizens into denser living arrangements, curtail freedom of choice in housing, discriminate against lower-income citizens, and compel people to pay more for their houses and give up their cars in favor of subways, trolleys, buses, and bicycles. http://venitism.blogspot.com
These efforts - often described as New Urbanism, sustainable development, or open land preservation - have long been resisted by most members of the community due to their negative impact on economic growth, competitiveness, and the standard of living. Communities implementing pseudosmart-growth policies have significantly higher home prices, which precludes moderate-income households from homeownership. In turn, these high home prices have forced buyers to take on excessive levels of mortgage debt, which has contributed to default and foreclosure problems.
A High Level Forum will be arranged with Member States and sectoral representatives to oversee the implementation of the stupid strategy and make recommendations on any necessary adjustments or new initiatives to be launched. In parallel, thematic and other groups will discuss various approaches for the implementation of specific initiatives, appraise the likely effects of existing actions at national and sectorial level on the specific initiatives and identify opportunities for synergies.
The cost of government regulation is truly staggering, and it's a barometer of how free we are to pursue our own interests and to determine the course of our own lives, independent of kleptocrats and the cancer of socialism. The cost of regulations is one trillion dollars in USA and two trillion euros in Fourth Reich(EU) every year. The global cost of regulation is six trillion euros every year. Financial costs are not the only burden.
Construction is a crucial sector for the European economy, generating almost 10% of EU GDP and providing 20 million jobs, mainly in micro and small enterprises. Competitiveness in the construction sector can significantly influence the development of the overall economy. Buildings' energy performance and resource efficiency in manufacturing, transport and the use of products to construct buildings and infrastructures have an important impact on Europeans' quality of life. The competitiveness of construction companies is therefore an important issue, not only for growth and employment in general but also to ensure the sector's sustainability.
Regulations result in a tremendous loss of one of our most valuable and limited resources, time. The private sector is spending over 10 billion hours a year just to meet government paperwork demands in USA, and 20 billion hours in Fourth Reich. It is no wonder that regulation discourages the creation of new businesses, new jobs, new products, and new services. Starve the beast by fighting taxes.
Any government intervention inevitably leads to more interventions in order to address the crises that are generated by the previous interventions. Ultimately the crises continue getting so bad that the government ends up taking over the entire sector. "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help." Ronald Reagan considered those nine words the most terrifying in the English language. And the government has been offering a lot of such help lately.
The population has exploded by an extra one billion in a decade. When I was born in 1945 it was only two billion and now it's seven billion. We've got a small planet, constraining the goods and services it can provide, while we are pursuing infinite growth not just of the number of people, but a growth in what we're consuming as well.
Innovation could alleviate the pressure on our limited resources, allowing the
population to grow without compromising individuals' quality of life. The growth
rate peaked in 1963, and some people anticipate a negative population growth in
Western European countries. Our lifestyles, including our ever-increasing
appetite for goods, are also having a dramatic impact on the consumption of the
world's resources. http://venitism.blogspot.com
