Pyramid Comment

This journal takes an alternative view on current affairs and other subjects. The approach is likely to be contentious and is arguably speculative. The content of any article is also a reminder of the status of those affairs at that date. All comments have been disabled. Any and all unsolicited or unauthorised links are absolutely disavowed.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Human Worth

The story goes that the housing shortage is extensive and indirectly provides a good reason to encourage the growth in population. Peculiar? Every living soul (potential consumer) is worth so much money. Not the assets they have, but what they are worth to someone else. How much money can be made from their existence. Potential debtors and a future source of income. Only the living have any 'value'. The a$$et-$tripped dead have no value.

One of the latest schemes is the prefab house that can be put up by five men working for less than half a day - four hours. The cost is £60,000, yet is (2007) still technically a prefab. Apparently, 10,000 houses need to be built in the southwest region alone every year to tackle the housing problem. So, at £60,000 x 10,000 = £600,000,000. Every year there is potentially £600m to be 'created'. Nice little earner for the construction industry from just one region.

How deep is the trough? And encourage house prices to keep rising and this £600m should reach £1 billion. When? Perhaps in less time than you'd imagine. And, of course, there's all that other revenue (council tax). And what about the building insurance? Not particularly resistant to strong winds or floods. Perhaps they will be built in areas that don't suffer high speed winds or torrential rain!

Not on floodplains perhaps, but on the coast of Cornwall instead.