Since our most reliable and insightful news coverage these days seems to come from a comedy program, perhaps we should listen to the ideas of one of its occasional guests: Lewis Black.
This is from several years ago, but perhaps it's even more relevant today.
To stimulate the economy, says comedian Lewis Black, we need to build a Big Fuckin' Thing. It doesn't matter what it is, but it needs to be big. And it needs to employ a lot of people. It doesn't have to be functional, necessarily--but that would help.
It's a funny bit, sure. But Mr. Black is actually on to something. There are historical precedents for building Big Fuckin' Things.
The Egyptians did it. Their Big Fuckin' Things are still there.
The Greeks and the Romans also built Big Fuckin' Things. You can still go there and gawk at them.
And we've built a few Big Fuckin' Things here in the US as well.
One such Big Fuckin' Thing is Hoover Dam: its construction employed thousands of workers during the Great Depression and took several years to complete. Its material demands stimulated many areas of the national economy at the time. And today it provides the essential service of supplying electricity for the western part of the country.
Another Big Fuckin' Thing is the St. Louis Arch: it doesn't do anything, it's just a Big Fuckin' Thing. But today it's an American icon, and people drive there from all over just to look at it--and it helps stimulate the local economy to this day.
Then there's the mother of all Big Fuckin' Things: the interstate highway system. Construction on this Big Fuckin' Thing is practically ongoing. This particular Big Fuckin' Thing spawned the suburbs, created a tremendous housing boom, spurred the growth of the auto industry, enabled the rapid delivery of goods, and practically opened the land to everyday folks from sea to shining sea.
But we haven't built a Big Fuckin' Thing in quite some time. Lewis Black is right: we need another Big Fuckin' Thing! I propose an interstate high-speed or maglev rail system. That would be a Big Fuckin' Thing we could be proud of. It would alleviate some of today's unemployment woes, help the environment and reduce our need for oil in the future, and bring this nation fully into the 21st Century.
What ideas for a Big Fuckin' Thing would you support?