Comic #6358: enginomics

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Description

Here’s the transcription of the comic:

Panel 1: Mayor: "MR. MAYOR, ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO CHANGE THE NAME OF OUR TOWN TO 'BLOCKCHAIN CITY'?" Mayor (answering): "OH YES. AND THAT'S ONLY THE BEGINNING."

Panel 2: Speaker: "THE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE THE MUNICIPAL ECONOMY IS TO ATTRACT A LARGE NUMBER OF ENGINEERS." Narration: "ENGINEERS GENERATE VALUE BY MAKING TEENY TINY IMPROVEMENTS IN THINGS LIKE CAR PARTS, SEARCH RESULTS, AND BANKING SOFTWARE."

Panel 3: Narration: "HOWEVER THEY THINK THEY GENERATE VALUE BY 3D-PRINTING THE VIRTUAL DECENTRALIZED BLOCKCHAIN OF THINGS OR WHATEVER."

Panel 4: Narration: "ALTHOUGH YOU ONLY WANT THEM FOR THE ACTUAL VALUE-CREATION WORK, IN ORDER TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN THEM, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE STUFF THEY THINK MATTERS."

Panel 5: Narration: "SO, YOU SET UP A CAFE WITH BAD COFFEE THAT ACCEPTS BITCOIN BUT THEN IMMEDIATELY CONVERTS IT TO ACTUAL MONEY. AND A HACKERSPACE WITH A BUNCH OF 3D PRINTERS THAT ARE ONLY GOOD FOR IMPRESSING CHILDREN. AND A PERSONAL TRANSPORT QUADCOPTERS THAT WILL NEVER BE BUILT."

Panel 6: Narration: "ALL THIS COSTS ALMOST NOTHING, BUT THE ENGINEERS WILL COME! COME IN THEIR THOUSANDS! LIKE LEMMINGS WITH OPINIONS ABOUT PYTHON!"

Panel 7: Speaker: "THE ENTIRE MUNICIPAL ECONOMIC POLICY IS TO PAY FOR POINTLESS CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS TO SUCKER CONFUSED ENGINEERS INTO WORK THEY DON'T VALUE?" Official: "WE ARE ALSO HOPING TO SUCKER CONFUSED FINANCE PEOPLE, BUT YES."

End of comic context.