The Extra-Large Portion of Bad Beans

From time to time, I marvel at the engine driving our economy and I think we have loosed some monster. I believe the fault lies in the way we approach ideas of 'value' and 'value-added'.   If we were talking about foreign development, we'd have been shaking our heads long ago over 'unsustainable development.'

Sustainable development "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." It's used a lot in environmental as well as developmental circles, but mostly it's about not squandering today what you'll need tomorrow.

Here are my examples of the monstrous economy. They are very opinionated. Your pet peeves will spring to mind--substitute at will.

1. Bad Mexican Food--a chain of fern-bar Mexican food restaurants in RiverTown had tasteless enchiladas, frijoles refritos like greasy sand, and an uninspiring, dark atmosphere that made you think 'dirt'. (I feel that way in a lot of  cosy 'fern bars.') Fifteen years ago, the local economy slumped, and the chain went bust. The CEO of the company blamed the economy. "The market for Mexican food restaurants is highly competitive, and somewhat overbuilt," the CEO claimed. 'We were under-capitalized for this market".  Nowhere in this article or analysis did the refried beans show up. These guys were phoning it in and riding the wave. Their carelessness spread top-down. The company didn't die, it committed suicide. You could say the same about General Motors, with a different scale and time frame.

2. Gigantic Cinnamon Roll--A coffee shop can sell a decent-sized cinnamon roll for say, $2.95. But they can charge $4.95 for one twice as big and get a bigger markup, increase gross sales, and make everyone fat. It's true a customer can ask for 'two forks', but in practice they almost never do. We're trained--one roll per person, don't mix germs, clean your plate/get value for the dollar, whatever. 

3. MacMansions--the new housing market is gone--and it's no wonder. Huge houses for couples that cost a bucket-load on the mortgage and to air condition. No yard for a swing set or backyard grill. The houses are in 'bedroom communities' that require long commutes (newer/reliable car, larger/comfortable car, yep, more gas).  The long-term, if not short-term forecast for energy prices is higher. It's a cycle, but it's a cycle that rises over time.  Like the cinnamon roll, we're conditioned that bigger is better. But families are smaller, and they become smaller. The children are in high school and will soon be moving out. (Now add college tuition.) These houses are not close to city or medical services, schools, and so forth. They represent an enormous effort, not a place of ease. They also represent temporary living--how are you going to negotiate the third floor when you've got arthritis in every joint? And now that the owners can't sell or downsize--it's a MacMansion in poor repair, too.

This partly represents a failure of design and a failure of salesmanship. By designing big, you can get everything in--but not with the cunning and thought required if you design something efficient and small. And a good salesman can sell a small efficient home as easily as a rambling castle. 

Going backwards is difficult--now that we're used to bad frijoles, thin excuses, larger portions, and our inner cities and old neighborhoods have been abandoned to crime. When a developing country gets a windfall, the World Bank suggests they create school funds, build hospitals--neither too large nor too small--and set money aside for the future. And as a country goes, so should a household.

I'm not suggesting everybody move out of their gated community, that six-foot people fold themselves into Cooper Minis, or even that anyone split the cinnamon roll. But I do think we have to address these failures of sales and design with a stronger management sense. Each of us have to look at our lives and decide what sustainable development is to us. Then we have to stick to it. The booms will be less fun--but the busts will be easier to climb out of.

Likewise, suppliers are going to have to develop some far-thinking, and re-develop their own talents--in design, sales, and manufacture. Otherwise they will not be offering the products a prudent public will want.

Ah, utopia . . .