The book "Into Thin Air" teaches that not only is it difficult to climb Mt Everest, but it is simply impossible for the vast majority of all humans to survive even a 30 minute walk down from the top if they were magically transported there. Not because of the cold (they can bundle up) but because they are not acclimated to the lack of oxygen. The weeks people spend at base camp is not "overhead" but a necessary conditioning to survive the walk to the summit. A dramatic and draconian change to overhead rates is not savvy, it is reckless. And it is unknown whether it is either efficient or even sustainable. It could take years to rebuild what can be destroyed in weeks, if it is even possible. Nobody talks about how wonderful the Dark Ages were.
Question- if DOGE goal is massive increase in efficiency and reduction in corruption, then industry must internalize costs to environment and health. Could you quantify what this would look like? This question arises from Feb 9,2025 NYTimes Taparia and Buchanan opinion piece … “More often than not, charities work to mitigate harms caused by business. Every year, corporations externalize trillions in costs to society and the planet. Nonprofits form to absorb those costs but have at their disposal only a tiny portion of the profits that corporations were able to generate by externalizing those costs in the first place. This is what makes charity such a good deal for businesses and their owners: They can earn moral credit for donating a penny to a problem they made a dollar creating.”
The book "Into Thin Air" teaches that not only is it difficult to climb Mt Everest, but it is simply impossible for the vast majority of all humans to survive even a 30 minute walk down from the top if they were magically transported there. Not because of the cold (they can bundle up) but because they are not acclimated to the lack of oxygen. The weeks people spend at base camp is not "overhead" but a necessary conditioning to survive the walk to the summit. A dramatic and draconian change to overhead rates is not savvy, it is reckless. And it is unknown whether it is either efficient or even sustainable. It could take years to rebuild what can be destroyed in weeks, if it is even possible. Nobody talks about how wonderful the Dark Ages were.
Question- if DOGE goal is massive increase in efficiency and reduction in corruption, then industry must internalize costs to environment and health. Could you quantify what this would look like? This question arises from Feb 9,2025 NYTimes Taparia and Buchanan opinion piece … “More often than not, charities work to mitigate harms caused by business. Every year, corporations externalize trillions in costs to society and the planet. Nonprofits form to absorb those costs but have at their disposal only a tiny portion of the profits that corporations were able to generate by externalizing those costs in the first place. This is what makes charity such a good deal for businesses and their owners: They can earn moral credit for donating a penny to a problem they made a dollar creating.”