What do we know? The government will pay for it! :)Reminds me of a scandal that's been brewing here lately. As part of its stimulus to stave off recession the government had this bright idea of paying people to get insulation put into their roof. The maximum rebate was $1600 and was paid directly to the installer. It doesn't take an Einstein to work out how this was going to go down. People quickly set themselves up in business and employed a few friends. They rang up as many people as possible and organised quotes-- surprise surprise every house cost $1600 to insulate. Even vacant lots got insulation.But then it turned nasty. Many of the new businesses were using a metallic foil, and were not training their new employees properly. So while stapling the foil to the beams, some of the less careful people stapled through electrical wires. There have been some fatalities. There have also been quite a few house fires.In February the Government stopped the scheme. They've had an enquiry and decided that every house that had insulation installed will now have them inspected for safety. People who had foil installed will have the choice of having it removed to having a safety switch installed that turns the power off if there is a short.The price of fixing the problem will be about double the original price of installation.Great moments in human government!
Of course, I always was curious about the turbo encabulators. :zzz:
ReplyDeleteLOL
ReplyDeleteWell... now we know. Not sure exactly what we know, but we know it.
ReplyDeleteWhat do we know? The government will pay for it! :)Reminds me of a scandal that's been brewing here lately. As part of its stimulus to stave off recession the government had this bright idea of paying people to get insulation put into their roof. The maximum rebate was $1600 and was paid directly to the installer. It doesn't take an Einstein to work out how this was going to go down. People quickly set themselves up in business and employed a few friends. They rang up as many people as possible and organised quotes-- surprise surprise every house cost $1600 to insulate. Even vacant lots got insulation.But then it turned nasty. Many of the new businesses were using a metallic foil, and were not training their new employees properly. So while stapling the foil to the beams, some of the less careful people stapled through electrical wires. There have been some fatalities. There have also been quite a few house fires.In February the Government stopped the scheme. They've had an enquiry and decided that every house that had insulation installed will now have them inspected for safety. People who had foil installed will have the choice of having it removed to having a safety switch installed that turns the power off if there is a short.The price of fixing the problem will be about double the original price of installation.Great moments in human government!
ReplyDeleteYes, it's always best to go with a contractor who has been in business for awhile.
ReplyDelete