we've created a society where being seen to do the thing matters more than actually doing it. the real world is now merely a stage for the digital one. and an entire generation will be left with nothing but a full camera roll and empty memories.
after a century of uninterrupted growth, for 15 years, between 2005 and 2020, America did not grow electrical generation. we completely forgot what it meant to grow industrial capacity. politicians constantly talked about "reindustrializing" and "bringing back high-paying blue collar jobs".
then AI actually did it. for the first time in 20 years we started reindustrializing America's heartland. creating a massive boom of skilled, high-paying blue collar labor. an enormous construction boom. a new industry emerged to finance the expansion of our aging grid. a grid that needed to grow anyway, if we were going to become a modern, highly electrified economy. and all of a sudden the tech companies and hyperscalers showed up with wads of cash, completely willing to pay for a massive grid expansion.
and all the politicians that talked so tough about "bringing back industry and blue collar jobs" panicked when the rubber hit the road. because the NIMBYists had become used to stagnation and freaked out when it came time to build a couple transmission lines. all that tough talk down the drain, because some boomers have AI anxiety and think a warehouse full of computers is unsightly next to a mattress warehouse and a vape shop. probably the most pathetic political episode I've ever witnessed.
the only question that really matters is: is it still possible to build anything at all in this country? or have we completely lost the political will?
@kenmartin73 My company has had dozen of checks stolen and subsequently forged going from a USPS drop off on our end to PO Box on the other. If not for steps we’ve taken with our bank, this theft, all within the chain of custody of the USPS, would’ve cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars.