{"id":279810,"date":"2025-06-07T17:59:48","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T17:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/activist\/my-job-is-to-say-no-with-one-exception\/"},"modified":"2025-06-07T17:59:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T17:59:48","slug":"my-job-is-to-say-no-with-one-exception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=279810","title":{"rendered":"My Job Is to Say No-with One Exception"},"content":{"rendered":" \r\n
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As long as there\u2019s a way to borrow more money, there\u2019s no discipline pushing efficiency.<\/em><\/p>

There seems to be a large number of people with this job description:\u00a0my job is to say no, with one exception<\/em><\/strong>. And what is the exception, the one circumstance where the answer is invariably yes?\u00a0Borrow more money? Yes, a thousand times yes.<\/strong><\/p>

In theory, we\u2019re supposed to invest our surplus capital in new technologies that increase productivity and efficiency, but that\u2019s not what happens in the real world.<\/strong>\u00a0What actually happens is we squander surplus capital, energy and labor on inefficiency, until we\u2019ve consumed the surplus.<\/p>

We \u201cgrow\u201d via inefficiency, not efficiency.<\/strong>\u00a0One might imagine that all our new technologies would dramatically reduce the time and cost of straightforward tasks such as obtaining a building permit. But the reality is the exact opposite: where I could obtain a building permit for a modest starter home in one day 40 years ago, now the permit process for that same home, with a few changes to meet new codes, takes 100 days: a 100-fold increase in time, along with a big increase in costs above and beyond inflation.<\/p>

The entire permit process is now digital. Isn\u2019t all this digital technology amazing?<\/strong>\u00a0If what took a day 40 years ago now took two hours, I would say yes. But now that the process takes 100 days, well, that sure looks like\u00a0Anti-Progress<\/em>.<\/p>

Public safety is a legitimate concern.<\/strong>\u00a0Warehouses converted to living quarters with extension cords and iffy wiring can and do burn down, killing people. So having some basic public-safety regulations makes excellent sense.<\/p>

There is no cost-benefit analysis built into such regulations, and so the power flows to those who say no.<\/strong>\u00a0There is a point beyond which more regulations and more layers of people saying no are counter-productive to the public interest, but there are no mechanisms to make this calculation or impose any discipline on those with the power to say no.<\/p>

When everyone is a \u201cstakeholder,\u201d the layers of those who can say no proliferate.<\/strong>\u00a0Someone can move into town, take an immediate disliking to a proposed housing project, choose among the menu of options to delay or kill the project, and then move away a month later: my work is done, I said no!<\/p>

Whether saying no was in the broader public interest\u2013who can say, as the adamant no\u2019s will shut down the weak yes\u2019s.<\/p>

Give the power to say no to a half-dozen agencies, and the inefficiencies of the process expand to near-infinity.<\/strong>\u00a0Ours is an advocacy system, otherwise known as \u201cpay to play,\u201d and so there\u2019s always some entity that will benefit from any project going forward. But there are also people benefiting from collecting fees and saying no, too. \u201cWhat\u2019s in the public interest?\u201d morphs into self-interest, and eventually someone with the power to say no does so.<\/p>

Since we have plenty of money, efficiency is unnecessary.<\/strong>\u00a0And if we ever run out of money, then the solution is to say yes to borrowing more.<\/p>

Once an industry becomes a golden goose, fees, friction and inefficiencies proliferate.<\/strong>\u00a0Soak up some of that free-flowing money, it\u2019s limitless. After all, everyone has to come to NYC or LA, and so we can impose heavy fees and take our time issuing permission, and since the golden goose will have to pay, why bother with efficiency, when inefficiency pays so many salaries?<\/p>

Until costs become so painful that the golden goose flies away.<\/strong>\u00a0Then the limitless money dries up, and all those collecting paychecks for saying no rush to \u201cbecome competitive\u201d by lowering the permit fee from $5,000 to $4,750. That should do it, they\u2019ll all come back for sure.<\/p>

Well, actually, no, they won\u2019t.<\/strong>\u00a0Inefficiency is profitable to those soaking up surplus money, but it\u2019s not actually productive, nor does it serve the public interest.<\/p>

But there\u2019s always one solution when surpluses dry up: borrow more money.<\/strong>\u00a0And this is how we arrive at this chart of total debt: $102 trillion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As long as there\u2019s a way to borrow more money, there\u2019s no discipline pushing efficiency.<\/strong>\u00a0Inefficiencies will rule until the money runs out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My recent books:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases originated via links to Amazon products on this site.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mythology of Progress, Anti-Progress and a Mythology for the 21st Century<\/a>\u00a0print $18, (Kindle<\/a>\u00a0$8.95,\u00a0Hardcover<\/a>\u00a0$24 (215 pages, 2024)\u00a0Read the Introduction and first chapter for free (PDF)<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>

Self-Reliance in the 21st Century<\/a>\u00a0print $18, (Kindle<\/a>\u00a0$8.95,\u00a0audiobook<\/a>\u00a0$13.08 (96 pages, 2022)\u00a0Read the first chapter for free (PDF)<\/em><\/a><\/p>

The Asian Heroine Who Seduced Me<\/a>\u00a0(Novel)\u00a0print<\/a>\u00a0$10.95,\u00a0Kindle<\/a>\u00a0$6.95\u00a0Read an excerpt for free<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(PDF)<\/p>

When You Can\u2019t Go On: Burnout, Reckoning and Renewal<\/a>\u00a0$18 print, $8.95\u00a0Kindle ebook<\/a>;\u00a0audiobook<\/a>\u00a0Read the first section for free (PDF)<\/a><\/p>

Global Crisis, National Renewal: A (Revolutionary) Grand Strategy for the United States<\/a>\u00a0(Kindle $9.95, print $24,\u00a0audiobook<\/a>)\u00a0Read Chapter One for free (PDF)<\/a>.<\/p>

A Hacker\u2019s Teleology: Sharing the Wealth of Our Shrinking Planet<\/a>\u00a0(Kindle $8.95, print $20,\u00a0audiobook<\/a>\u00a0$17.46)\u00a0Read the first section for free (PDF)<\/a>.<\/p>

Will You Be Richer or Poorer?: Profit, Power, and AI in a Traumatized World<\/a>(Kindle $5, print $10, audiobook)\u00a0Read the first section for free (PDF)<\/a>.<\/p>

The Adventures of the Consulting Philosopher: The Disappearance of Drake<\/a>\u00a0(Novel) $4.95 Kindle, $10.95 print);\u00a0read the first chapters for free (PDF)<\/a><\/em><\/p>

Money and Work Unchained<\/a>\u00a0$6.95 Kindle, $15 print) Read the first section for free<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Become a $3\/month patron of my work via patreon.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>

Subscribe to my Substack for free<\/a><\/p>\n\n \n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As long as there\u2019s a way to borrow more money, there\u2019s no discipline pushing efficiency. There seems to be a large number of people with this job description:\u00a0my job is to say no, with one exception. And what is the exception, the one circumstance where the answer is invariably yes?\u00a0Borrow more money? Yes, a thousand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":279811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12022],"tags":[55326,3690,108848],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-279810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activist","tag-exception","tag-job","tag-nowith"],"yoast_head":"\nMy Job Is to Say No-with One Exception - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=279810\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Job Is to Say No-with One Exception - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As long as there\u2019s a way to borrow more money, there\u2019s no discipline pushing efficiency. 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