But think about it, the construction business goes far beyond the nail bangers and equipment operators you see while driving by job sites. Behind every concrete pour, crane pick, and hammer swing, there are hours, months, and often years put into the design, planning, financing, insuring, bidding, supplying, managing, operating, and (unfortunately) litigating these projects. If we look at the construction industry to include lenders, insurance and bonding companies, accountants, inspection services, and law firms, as well as design consultants, the industry looks much bigger.
It is not a surprise that the U.S. government has often poured money into public construction projects as a method of boosting or maintaining the economy. This gives work to the slew of people in the AEC industry and puts money in their pockets that will undoubtedly get spent. Some of the greatest construction projects in the US have been built during very difficult economic times, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, and Hoover Dam.
While controversy rages about the effectiveness of publicly funded projects in stimulating the economy as a whole, it is very clear that many people will be working instead of going through fruitless job searches, collecting unemployment, and feeling like they aren't accomplishing anything (or worse, tipping back the bottle). And by the way, the country benefits from new and often very much needed infrastructure. With the leaders of our country pouring money into infrastructure projects like the Colorado River through open gates of the Hoover Dam, the reasoning must have some undeniable legitimacy.
This little discussion may have taken a bit more than a nano-second (you're still paying attention right), but I hope it suffciently kicks off a blog about the contruction industry and how the country may be affected by it's performance. Because honestly, it's really big.
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