We know where a lot of the "slow motion" money has gone...it's "parked" at the point of interest on reserves so as to provide support for already existing housing. Certainly, that policy of monetary support was needed to stabilize the economy overall, even though too much emphasis was placed on housing and not enough on unemployment. But now, it is time to start moving money back into broader markets overall and begin the focus on generating real economic momentum. The Fed told us many times it could not do the job alone, and as citizens we need to start helping ourselves. The best means to do so? Provide more incremental ways for everyone to move ahead into the future. In order for that to happen, the versatility and potential of plastics is the best place to start.
To be sure, some will be able to resume ownership in the homes which are coming back onto the market. Just the same, this particular method of local wealth creation is already being acknowledged for the extremely slow growth it actually represents in the present. Only a limited number today can reasonably expect to own property in a "traditional sense", as legally defined in the U.S. But that is no longer true just for consumers. Business possibilities of all kinds are limited, in large part because of today's outdated zoning and codes. Many businesses could make the decision to retain people instead of building robots, if their own building codes were freed by the potential of lightweight and strong building materials that plastics could become.
Our landfills are already full of the very material that could be adapted to the printing capacity of 3D technology, which also means local manufacture of snap together components for construction possibilities would be doable anywhere. Each piece could be amenable to technological innovation as well, making many of the extra functions, expenses and other extreme aggravations that go into homebuilding completely unnecessary. There are few better examples of the possibilities of good deflation, than allowing technology through plastics use to greatly simplify our environments, just as technology has expanded and deepened our communications.
However the best part of all: the incremental ownership that such processes would make possible, even for those with the smallest of incomes. Because of its mobility and flexibility, plastic could give us environments that we can shift about, repurpose, and put together again as needed. That would allow us to find out what actually works in the present, for living and working amongst one another in new ways. For any community that wishes to start anew, working with plastics to make a more survivable world for all participants is the best place to start.
Use of plastics would also make it possible for people to experience ownership without being overwhelmed by the process. Not all people, as they age, have the ability to provide the maintenance for traditional structures which often need extensive remodeling with each passing decade. Even brick homes with only limited wood framing and walls eventually succumb to problems with water, plumbing issues and insect infestations. Pull apart components, on the other hand, could simply snap into place (even as primary support), making expensive remodels of bathrooms and kitchens completely unnecessary for those who cannot afford to take them on. DIY could become something that no longer need destroy relationships, finances and one's health in the process.
The very idea of sticky contracts and wages in the marketplace can slowly be busted apart, as local economies adapt to more flexible and incremental means for economic growth. Any community that takes on the challenge of environmental renewal can provide inspirational examples for others, not to mention the potential of doing so with materials already readily available at home to a large degree. Also, land use can become more oriented around the actual, always movable location a citizen chooses to utilize at any given moment. That would also allow a more coordinated public orientation, which citizens can readily combine for one another as needed and desired.
What of the larger coordination that would be required to make any of this possible? To be explored in the next post...
P.S. This note is to "park" a link, "Brain Sets Prices With Emotional Value". It's a good fit, regarding what people may need in terms of living options and what actually gets offered to them, i.e. the "emotional" response to buy. From Eureka Alert, HT Mark Thoma.
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