Monday 4 February 2002

Pic of the day: "It ain't over till the fat lady sings." (Sorry, that was the chubbiest female Sim I could find in a hurry. No offense to those who are somewhat rotund in real life, or those who don't recognize the quote.)

Norwegian Opera

How delightfully ironic. Here in Norway, the Storting (parliament) decided a couple years ago to build a national opera at the seaside in Oslo, the capital city. The cost was estimated at kr 1.8 billion, or ca $200 million.

At the time, some of us doubted these figures. (I don't know how many, but I was one and the business newspaper Dagens Næringsliv was another.) At least twice that, said we, and then some. Two reasons for this: One, a quick look at the plans showed that it just wasn't realistic. The size, the placement, the type of building. Second, we know from experience that the people who want such things built, hire "experts" who provide ridiculous low cost estimates, because otherwise it would not seem worthwhile to build. Once the building is in progress, the real costs can come to light, since it's too late anyway.

Now the cost is approximately doubled, and the actual physical work has not even begun. Nor should it. This is where the government, such as it is, should put the foot down and stand on it. I mean, say you ordered a $20 pizza and then before they even start to bake it they tell you "oh, and it will be $40". Would you say "OK, done is done" or would you say "What the BLEEP? I ordered that one because it was so cheap. You are nothing but crooks, I'm taking my money elsewhere!"

I mean, even if we could afford to pour that much money out on a luxury item for the idle rich (and we can, being Norway) this is neither the time to do it nor the way to do it. Firstly, we don't really have the manpower right now so we should use this as an excuse to drag feet until the recession finally comes here too. As it is, we will be employing people who could do much needed work building homes in and around Oslo, where people despair to find a place to live. There will soon enough be time to waste money just to keep people working.

Second, and most important, we should not reward dishonesty. When it is so transparent that even an amateur economist can see it at a glance, it should never have passed in the first place. It is just plain wrong, and gives the impression that our government consists of slightly retarded wuzzies. (And even if that is true, compared to the standards of the business world, there is no reason to advertise it like that.)

Besides, Norway already has a world famous Opera. I'm sure the nice people at Opera Software could use a couple billions if it's so important to get rid of the money. It's both more useful and a better ambassador for Norway than some pathetic building that most people will never see, much less use.