Tuesday 21 February 2017

A Public Building in Need of Replacement


Imagine we have an old public building that has become hazardous and costs far more to maintain than any public benefit it provides. It needs to be demolished (and replaced).

We'll need to hire a demolition contractor.  As we consider the tenders, we see that we have one from an under-qualified over-confident dishonest angry demolition contractor with a fixation on “disaster” who asserts, “It will be a cinch to tear this baby down!” He says he’ll do it “fast and cheap” by swinging a wrecking ball during rush hour in the crowded streets. While his own estimates are very low and competitive, his costs do not include collateral damage. He seems to have a curiously cavalier disregard for the complexity of the job, safety, and broader consequences. In fact, it is a virtual certainty that most of the demolition debris will fall directly on our heads and is likely to result in injury, death and irreparable harm.  Shall we give him the contract?

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