3 ms·

> Instead of giving people money to chase goods stuck in ports the government should have spent that money on building up infrastructure and have people out doo

> Instead of giving people money to chase goods stuck in ports the government should have spent that money on building up infrastructure and have people out doors away from covid. This statement makes no sense: even (most? all?) construction was shut down during (pre-vaccine) 2020 for periods of time to reduce the spread of COVID. At least it was where I was. Further, the people staying at home were often in the service sector: retail, restaurants, etc. Even when the restrictions were lifted a bit, you can't simply take random people who were doing one job and throw them onto a construction site and expect them to be useful (never mind productive/efficient). The number of companies and people available at any given time to do this is at any particular instant of time is finite, and most were probably on a contract. Certainly over time people can shift careers, but that is not instantaneous change. Depending on the "infrastructure" you want to do/build, you need lead time to actually design what you want to build, do surveys, get permits, and order materials. And because of global supply chain issues, a lot of materials were in short supply: lumber being the most publicized, but shipping pallets were an issue as well (there was a good Odd Lots podcast episode on them), as were the obscure things such as truss plates. Maintaining infrastructure is a great idea, but you don't "just" do it. Outside of 'simply' tarmac repaving the surface of a road, most everything else takes a few months of planning.

vsareto 5y ago
You're right you don't just do go out and do that stuff, but it's been delayed by political forces for years. We could have been well past the initial stages by now.
thrown_22 5y ago
>This statement makes no sense: even (most? all?) construction was shut down during (pre-vaccine) 2020 for periods of time to reduce the spread of COVID. At least it was where I was. Yes, and? All it would have taken was to call them vital workers, or whatever the local equivalent was, and they could have kept working. That was a political decision and covid still spread among vital workers. Adding construction would have changed very little in the grand scheme of things. As for the rest building isn't software design. Unless people start getting physically in the way of each other more people on a site means the project gets done faster. If nothing else the real tradies would appreciate having a gofer each.
- giantg2 5y ago
  "Unless people start getting physically in the way of each other more people on a site means the project gets done faster." Have you worked construction? If they're clueless, then they will slow you down with mistakes and questions/training. Not to mention many parts of construction require skilled trades (electric, plumbing, carpentry, masonry, etc), some of which require licenses.
  - throw0101a 5y ago
    > Not to mention many parts of construction require skilled trades (electric, plumbing, carpentry, masonry, etc), some of which require licenses. There's smaller and smaller areas of construction that is unskilled nowadays AFAICT. Unless you're just there to lift stuff and/or literally dig ditches (which is often done with machines), there's not much that can be done by some rando off the street. Even the day labourers that are found around Home Depot (probably?) have areas of knowledge, even if it's just framing. Certainly some areas could be picked up fairly quickly (spreading/trowling and/or screeding concrete?), in most other areas there's some specialized knowledge. Especially if it has to meet code, which is getting more stringent over time. A YouTube channel of someone who does building inspections: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=326J5b_1ydI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=326J5b_1ydI * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD3Vo6WTsXA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD3Vo6WTsXA Quite a few subtle places that one can mess up, even if you're a licensed professional (e.g., electrician) and are supposed to know better.
    - giantg2 5y ago
      At lot of the inspectors are a joke, so you have to mess up pretty bad to fail. I had an inspector come out to verify my generator hookup and interlock switch. He asked a few basic questions, but that was it. He didn't ask nor look at how the legs of the panel were balanced or anything. Later he sent me a letter saying I needed to mark the generator receptacle with the max wattage. Um yeah, that was already on there... It's all about the permit money.
  - thrown_22 5y ago

vsareto 5y ago

You're right you don't just do go out and do that stuff, but it's been delayed by political forces for years. We could have been well past the initial stages by now.

thrown_22 5y ago

>This statement makes no sense: even (most? all?) construction was shut down during (pre-vaccine) 2020 for periods of time to reduce the spread of COVID. At least it was where I was. Yes, and? All it would have taken was to call them vital workers, or whatever the local equivalent was, and they could have kept working. That was a political decision and covid still spread among vital workers. Adding construction would have changed very little in the grand scheme of things. As for the rest building isn't software design. Unless people start getting physically in the way of each other more people on a site means the project gets done faster. If nothing else the real tradies would appreciate having a gofer each.

giantg2 5y ago
"Unless people start getting physically in the way of each other more people on a site means the project gets done faster." Have you worked construction? If they're clueless, then they will slow you down with mistakes and questions/training. Not to mention many parts of construction require skilled trades (electric, plumbing, carpentry, masonry, etc), some of which require licenses.
- throw0101a 5y ago
  > Not to mention many parts of construction require skilled trades (electric, plumbing, carpentry, masonry, etc), some of which require licenses. There's smaller and smaller areas of construction that is unskilled nowadays AFAICT. Unless you're just there to lift stuff and/or literally dig ditches (which is often done with machines), there's not much that can be done by some rando off the street. Even the day labourers that are found around Home Depot (probably?) have areas of knowledge, even if it's just framing. Certainly some areas could be picked up fairly quickly (spreading/trowling and/or screeding concrete?), in most other areas there's some specialized knowledge. Especially if it has to meet code, which is getting more stringent over time. A YouTube channel of someone who does building inspections: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=326J5b_1ydI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=326J5b_1ydI * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD3Vo6WTsXA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD3Vo6WTsXA Quite a few subtle places that one can mess up, even if you're a licensed professional (e.g., electrician) and are supposed to know better.
  - giantg2 5y ago
    At lot of the inspectors are a joke, so you have to mess up pretty bad to fail. I had an inspector come out to verify my generator hookup and interlock switch. He asked a few basic questions, but that was it. He didn't ask nor look at how the legs of the panel were balanced or anything. Later he sent me a letter saying I needed to mark the generator receptacle with the max wattage. Um yeah, that was already on there... It's all about the permit money.
- thrown_22 5y ago