SPARK GROWTH

From:

http://kunstler.com/blog/2012/05/dancing-shoes.html

SPARK GROWTH

"I read one blurb in the local paper saying that everyone at G-8 agreed to 'spark growth' in Europe as a way out of the mess. Spark growth?? What the fuck does that mean...exactly? "

You see, the worldwide economy and its models, targets, statistics, values, etc. are all based on the "American Economic Model": And the Model is really precisely the American one, the USA model, as that is the model of Capitalism, Free Enterprise, Consumption, Innovation, Technology etc. that was really successful in the 20th century, that really fixed the baseline and ground point from which all other models and economies and societies and countries would then be measured.

But the model really only ever worked mostly in the USA: it is a case of Capitalism, but especially Consumerism in only one country, all other countries don't come close, will never come close, cannot come close even if they wanted to. And why is this ? because no other country is set up like the USA, with large homes, single family homes, large so that you can fill them up with all kinds of junk made all over the world, 2 car garages, wide streets, front and back yards, etc. And manipulable wood homes, not made of concrete like most of the world where it is hard to modify your home, hence huge Home Depot stores with a huge selection of items, consumption of items and such.

Just compare this to so called successful countries that had "High Growth" for decades like Singapore or Hong Kong, or South Korea or JAPAN or Germany: compare their puny tight streets, small homes, mostly apartments but mostly small where you can't fill them up with all kinds of random consumer goods bought constantly. Compare those countries that "Grew" economically and are successful economically to the USA: they all lack really huge Big Box stores full of stuff like in the USA, Malls all over the place, all kinds of stores and choices and huge activity of consumerism and such. But especially they don't like to Buy Baby Buy, consume and buy and keep the game going as they do in the USA. Look at Germany, they have cash but they don't like to buy all kinds of things (they are green and puny consumers etc.), where are all their Malls and their Home Depots ? where are all the huge shopping centers, where are all the big houses with 2 car garages, and such ? Same for JAPAN and Hong Kong and South Korea and most of Europe.

Singapore is a joke: you can't even have a car unless you are rich since there are no parking spaces and such.

So in a world of mostly puny consumers, tight streets, puny homes, no Big Box stores, etc. green thugs who are afraid of Buying and Consuming like crazy for some religious ideology that believes that Nature is sacred, how is Growth going to be Sparked ? Who, aside from the USA is going to spark any kind of growth ? Like the joke of Chinese shopping centers full of stuff that no one can afford to buy and such.

Add to this the fact that most of the world is rigid economically, is not flexible as the USA (tight puny labor markets not hire and fire and always change like the USA, insecurity people have pumping up the cost of real estate like crazy since they have nothing else to base their security upon), is full of ideology, especially green and tree hugging ideologies that don't want to Build Baby Build like Crazy (High Speed Trains, Skyscrapers, Rockets, Big Box Stores full of crap and such) and you can be sure that there will be no growth worldwide or very little growth, hence high unemployment and such.

Can you imagine an american styled Home Depot and Lowes in Singapore or Hong Kong or Tokyo and such ? where are the parking lots ? in those puny tight streets, etc. ? That is the problem, that is why this global economy sucks, because the model all the world is trying to imitate is the American model but with their local structure of cities and towns built around people and not cars, with an anti-consumerist mentality, with a structure of living and building that simply cannot grow even if it wanted to. Those places, most of the world has no room to grow, it is all tight and saturated and puny and crappy (tight roads in Italy, traffic jams keeping people from going out and such, tight roads in Bangkok or UK, etc.).

And don't even get me started on Mexico or Brazil or Bangkok and such: small crappy puny homes, tight streets, no Big Box stores, no huge parking lots, etc. They will never grow no matter what, they are destined to be poor turds as usual, etc.

The American model can mostly only work in America, as the USA is the only real "Worldwide Consumer", even the closest similar countries like Canada and Australia are smaller and tighter and have less shopping centers than the USA: and then remember: the USA was built around cars (hence they have the largest highway and road system worldwide, wide streets and parking lots) the rest of the world was built (badly and puny) around people, hence the rest of the world will not Grow Baby Grow like they should.

So, I repeat, we need Huge Consumption, all the world must be filled with Huge Parking Lots, Huge Big Box Stores, huge McMansions, Trillions of Skyscrapers, Trillions of Rockets to Mars, kill nature, hate nature, this religion of Nature is killing us, we need Trillions of Jets across the sky, Trillions of High Speed Trains, split the Sun, Grab the Energy, colonize the Solar System, etc. Be a pig and hog it all up, don't refrain...and Free Salaries (since the Technological Economy has killed jobs once and for all and for good), Cheap Rents...

THE APE, SUBARU SUBARU SUBARU RU RU SUBARU SUBARU SUBARU RU RU JOBSTER LOBSTER APESTER, NO DICE JOB, NO DICE, NO DICE JOSE' SHPAK A LAK SHPAK A LAK, CONFUSED BARBIE...