This is a special post for quick takes by Liam Gong. Only they can create top-level comments. Comments here also appear on the Quick Takes page and All Posts page.
Hello! I have read that sometimes infrastructure is built but goes unused because it's easier to raise money to build than it is to raise money to maintain. If this is a real problem, I thought maybe it would make sense to offer micro-endowments, the idea being that solving a problem in perpetuity would raise the emotional stakes back to being on par with new construction.
My main questions are: 1) Is this a real problem? and 2) Do you know of any case where maintenance costs are low enough that a micro-endoment would be on par with initial cost (maybe a yearly maintenance cost of 1/25th of installation cost)?
Hello! I have read that sometimes infrastructure is built but goes unused because it's easier to raise money to build than it is to raise money to maintain. If this is a real problem, I thought maybe it would make sense to offer micro-endowments, the idea being that solving a problem in perpetuity would raise the emotional stakes back to being on par with new construction.
My main questions are: 1) Is this a real problem? and 2) Do you know of any case where maintenance costs are low enough that a micro-endoment would be on par with initial cost (maybe a yearly maintenance cost of 1/25th of installation cost)?
Thank you for any and all feedback!