1. Why focus on Swifts as opposed to any other species in decline? They state that they are "iconic", so maybe that's the answer? Are they more "iconic" than any other specifies in Scotland?
2. Why are these bricks the best solution? Why not take that money that would be spent on bricks and instead preserve land, or just build them dedicated houses elsewhere?
3. Why does this need to be done via government mandate versus voluntarily asking people to build Swift housing in existing buildings or land?
I'm worried that this is a government policy with great intentions that will result in economic costs with unmeasured benefits and bureaucratic bloat. Hopefully I am proven wrong!
GDP records market transactions. So in your scenario, purchasing the chicken, the chicken feed, the chicken coop, etc would all be measured. The time spent raising the chicken (assuming you did not pay someone to do it), would not be captured.
However, I think part of your criticism is a moralistic and health based argument that raising a chicken is intrinsically better and healthier that Doordashing fast food. When a consumer chooses a $60 delivered meal over a $45 home-cooked alternative, that reveals a preference for whatever they value, such as convenience, time saved, taste, service quality, etc. GDP doesn’t evaluate whether that preference is “good”; it only records the transaction value that arises from it.
So I agree GDP is not a perfect measure, but it's far from useless.
I would not over complicate this. My personal four part plan for this is:
1. Donate a portion of my income to charitable causes I find worthy. I would like to target 10% of my net income.
2. Volunteer at a local organization that you care about. There are usually ample opportunities for committed volunteers if you look for them.
3. Have children. Try to raise them to be responsible, caring citizens. That way I can extend my efforts to the next generation.
4. In the near future, I intend to attempt to get involved with local politics somehow. I am still figuring out the specifics, but I am thinking that running for the local school board would be beneficial.
1. Why focus on Swifts as opposed to any other species in decline? They state that they are "iconic", so maybe that's the answer? Are they more "iconic" than any other specifies in Scotland?
2. Why are these bricks the best solution? Why not take that money that would be spent on bricks and instead preserve land, or just build them dedicated houses elsewhere?
3. Why does this need to be done via government mandate versus voluntarily asking people to build Swift housing in existing buildings or land?
I'm worried that this is a government policy with great intentions that will result in economic costs with unmeasured benefits and bureaucratic bloat. Hopefully I am proven wrong!