Close Menu
The Politic ReviewThe Politic Review
  • Home
  • News
  • United States
  • World
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Congress
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Money
  • Tech
Trending

Popular weight loss drug could cause sudden blindness – EU’s health watchdog

June 7, 2025

Joe Rogan Sticks Up for Church as He’s Confronted by Skeptical Comedians

June 7, 2025

Gap Partners With Malbon To Bridge The Gap Between Style And Sport

June 7, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
  • Donald Trump
  • Kamala Harris
  • Elections 2024
  • Elon Musk
  • Israel War
  • Ukraine War
  • Policy
  • Immigration
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
The Politic ReviewThe Politic Review
Newsletter
Saturday, June 7
  • Home
  • News
  • United States
  • World
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Congress
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Money
  • Tech
The Politic ReviewThe Politic Review
  • United States
  • World
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Congress
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Money
  • Tech
Home»Economy»My Job Is to Say No-with One Exception
Economy

My Job Is to Say No-with One Exception

Press RoomBy Press RoomJune 7, 2025No Comments5 Mins Read
Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest Copy Link LinkedIn Tumblr Email VKontakte Telegram

As long as there’s a way to borrow more money, there’s no discipline pushing efficiency.

There seems to be a large number of people with this job description: my job is to say no, with one exception. And what is the exception, the one circumstance where the answer is invariably yes? Borrow more money? Yes, a thousand times yes.

In theory, we’re supposed to invest our surplus capital in new technologies that increase productivity and efficiency, but that’s not what happens in the real world. What actually happens is we squander surplus capital, energy and labor on inefficiency, until we’ve consumed the surplus.

We “grow” via inefficiency, not efficiency. One 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.

The entire permit process is now digital. Isn’t all this digital technology amazing? If 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 Anti-Progress.

Public safety is a legitimate concern. Warehouses 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.

There is no cost-benefit analysis built into such regulations, and so the power flows to those who say no. There 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.

When everyone is a “stakeholder,” the layers of those who can say no proliferate. Someone 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!

Whether saying no was in the broader public interest–who can say, as the adamant no’s will shut down the weak yes’s.

Give the power to say no to a half-dozen agencies, and the inefficiencies of the process expand to near-infinity. Ours is an advocacy system, otherwise known as “pay to play,” and so there’s always some entity that will benefit from any project going forward. But there are also people benefiting from collecting fees and saying no, too. “What’s in the public interest?” morphs into self-interest, and eventually someone with the power to say no does so.

Since we have plenty of money, efficiency is unnecessary. And if we ever run out of money, then the solution is to say yes to borrowing more.

Once an industry becomes a golden goose, fees, friction and inefficiencies proliferate. Soak up some of that free-flowing money, it’s 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?

Until costs become so painful that the golden goose flies away. Then the limitless money dries up, and all those collecting paychecks for saying no rush to “become competitive” by lowering the permit fee from $5,000 to $4,750. That should do it, they’ll all come back for sure.

Well, actually, no, they won’t. Inefficiency is profitable to those soaking up surplus money, but it’s not actually productive, nor does it serve the public interest.

But there’s always one solution when surpluses dry up: borrow more money. And this is how we arrive at this chart of total debt: $102 trillion.


As long as there’s a way to borrow more money, there’s no discipline pushing efficiency. Inefficiencies will rule until the money runs out.


My recent books:

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases originated via links to Amazon products on this site.

The Mythology of Progress, Anti-Progress and a Mythology for the 21st Century print $18, (Kindle $8.95, Hardcover $24 (215 pages, 2024) Read the Introduction and first chapter for free (PDF)

Self-Reliance in the 21st Century print $18, (Kindle $8.95, audiobook $13.08 (96 pages, 2022) Read the first chapter for free (PDF)

The Asian Heroine Who Seduced Me (Novel) print $10.95, Kindle $6.95 Read an excerpt for free (PDF)

When You Can’t Go On: Burnout, Reckoning and Renewal $18 print, $8.95 Kindle ebook; audiobook Read the first section for free (PDF)

Global Crisis, National Renewal: A (Revolutionary) Grand Strategy for the United States (Kindle $9.95, print $24, audiobook) Read Chapter One for free (PDF).

A Hacker’s Teleology: Sharing the Wealth of Our Shrinking Planet (Kindle $8.95, print $20, audiobook $17.46) Read the first section for free (PDF).

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

The Adventures of the Consulting Philosopher: The Disappearance of Drake (Novel) $4.95 Kindle, $10.95 print); read the first chapters for free (PDF)

Money and Work Unchained $6.95 Kindle, $15 print) Read the first section for free

Become a $3/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

Subscribe to my Substack for free


Read the full article here
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email Telegram Copy Link

Related Articles

Economy

Trump: ‘We’re Going to Save and Totally Cherish Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid’

June 7, 2025
Economy

Fintech Giant Klarna Loves AI but Will Offer ‘VIP’ Human Customer Support

June 7, 2025
Economy

Vice President JD Vance: ‘Huge Mistake’ for Musk to Be at ‘War’ with President Trump

June 7, 2025
Economy

WATCH: Trump’s Full Press Gaggle Aboard Air Force One from Breitbart News’s Vantage Point

June 7, 2025
Economy

Gavin Newsom Threatens to Block California Tax Payments to Federal Government

June 7, 2025
Economy

Elite-Backed Street Activists Harass ICE in New York Court Buildings

June 7, 2025
Add A Comment
Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Editors Picks

Joe Rogan Sticks Up for Church as He’s Confronted by Skeptical Comedians

June 7, 2025

Gap Partners With Malbon To Bridge The Gap Between Style And Sport

June 7, 2025

Trump: ‘We’re Going to Save and Totally Cherish Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid’

June 7, 2025

Stephen Miller: Big, Beautiful Bill the ‘Most Important Piece of Legislation in the Western World’

June 7, 2025
Latest News

BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Sheriff Dar Leaf Shows How “Dominion’s CEO Committed Perjury, Got Caught and Targeted Tina Peters”

June 7, 2025

‘Ballerina’ Has Higher Audience Scores Than Every ‘John Wick’ Movie

June 7, 2025

Lawsuit: Anthropic Has Been Harvesting Reddit User Posts to Train AI

June 7, 2025

Subscribe to News

Get the latest politics news and updates directly to your inbox.

The Politic Review is your one-stop website for the latest politics news and updates, follow us now to get the news that matters to you.

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest YouTube
Latest Articles

Popular weight loss drug could cause sudden blindness – EU’s health watchdog

June 7, 2025

Joe Rogan Sticks Up for Church as He’s Confronted by Skeptical Comedians

June 7, 2025

Gap Partners With Malbon To Bridge The Gap Between Style And Sport

June 7, 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest politics news and updates directly to your inbox.

© 2025 Prices.com LLC. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • For Advertisers
  • Contact

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.