I’m fond of classic rock. Some of you may have picked up on this thanks to my references to such artists as David Bowie, The Kinks, Van Halen and others in the pieces I’ve written in the past five years. I’m going to dedicate this one to The Who — specifically the band’s song “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

Before it became the theme song for a TV show (and before the band lived up to the name of a previous album “The Who Sell Out”), the song was about a cry for change — about people standing up and starting a movement. But when their goal is achieved, they find their plan didn’t make much difference when all was said and done.

That’s kind of how I feel about the past year. There was a whole lot of talk during 2010 about laying the groundwork for change in 2011. That groundwork was supposed to take the shape in a number of things like aid packages, helping the ailing housing market and investment in sustainable technology. Putting the effort (i.e., money) in these sectors was supposed to help stabilize the economy enough that we’d see an upward trend overall in 2011. To quote a line from the song, “The world looks just the same. And history ain’t changed.”

While manufacturing has seen a small uptick, the housing market is still pitiful to say the least. New construction hasn’t picked up, and while renovations and retrofitting have, it hasn’t been enough to pull the A/E/C market entirely out of the doldrums.

What’s going on?

No, I’m not offering any answers. I don’t have them. Rest assured that if I did have the answers, they would probably make me wealthy enough to effect a change for the better. I’m just taking an opportunity to grandstand and voice my bleak industry view. But I don’t want to do it alone; I want to know what you think. You can agree or disagree with me. Voice your thoughts as to what needs to be done to change the situation we’re in. Maybe you don’t think we’re so bad off right now.

Take a look at what other industry professionals think of the past view in our 2011 Perspectives article on p. 10. Feel free to let us know your thoughts by posting them online. While you could take the time to email me, I think it’d be much better if you visited the online version of our 2011 Perspectives article and post your opinion for everyone else to see.

I’ll catch you all right here on the flipside. Until then, here’s to hoping we don’t get fooled again…again!

Cheers,

Derrick Teal

Editor

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