The show that they are really Luddites in the article:
“They’ve rejected the idea of using factory-made prefab parts (something that a related project in the area does), because one of the main goals is to also provide jobs. Still, whatever the final cost, it will be cheap.”
While they are at it, maybe they should require that the workmen wear homspun, only use man powered tools, and dig the foundations and sewer system/hookups by hand.
That will create low-paid, low productive jobs.
Factories are how we raised the standard of living.
Economist Milton Friedman told a story about visiting a jobs program in a foreign country.
He watched a group of workers hand-digging a trench with shovels. He asked the manager why they were not using power tools. The manager told him “Jobs!”
Dr. Friedman asked, “Then why don’t they just use teaspoons?”
I like the idea of a cheap house so that many more people can afford to have a good place to raise a family cheap without living in a slum style apartment.
But they are doing a lot of social engineering here, looks like they want to put these in expensive neighborhoods ..ala section 8? They are definitely targeted toward vets, unfortunately.
And they forgo quality and cheap pre fab options to do ‘make work’ jobs. Here is some advice for them, do the factory prefab so you have an even cheaper product and you will have plenty of jobs because you can build more of them faster!
Since when is it the job of the working “poor” to provide jobs? Maybe they’ve latched onto some new dangles trickle-up economic theory?