Gene Dallago lives in Ketchum.
By GENE DALLAGO
Do you recall the closing scene in "Rebel Without A Cause"? Sal Mineo, the troubled teen, gets shot by police at an old, abandoned mansion in the hills above Los Angeles. Or, how about the house in "Sunset Boulevard," which struggling screenwriter William Holden regards as a "great big white-elephant of a place, the kind crazy movie-people built in the crazy 20s." In both cases, the houses had at one time been the ultimate expressions of wealth, and in both cases, for social and economic reasons, they just didn't make sense anymore and ultimately were destined for the wrecking ball.
On and off for the past several weeks, there has been a half-page ad in the Mountain Express advertising the auction of an estate north of Ketchum. The sale must be under economic duress, as the bidding will start at a fraction of the appraised value, and the ad prominently states the "Seller's Loss is Your Gain!" Somehow, looking at the aerial photo of the 13,000-square-foot house, I couldn't help thinking of those long-gone "white elephants" from the movies.
Since the end of World War II, America has consumed a percentage of the world's resources disproportionate to the size of its population. But today, 20 percent of the world's consumer class lives in China and India, and although it only represents about 15 percent of their total populations, it's already larger than all of Europe combined. As the number of consumers continues to grow, so will their need for global resources. Clearly, the rate of consumption in America is unsustainable. There will be no magical increase in resources. Instead, Americans will have to adapt to using less.
Whether you believe economic recovery is ahead of us or not, as the nation becomes more indebted to China and the emerging markets continue to grow, America is experiencing an economic paradigm shift that will gradually transform our way of life. We're certainly not destined to become a Third World nation, but reduced consumption for most Americans will be a matter of necessity, and even the rich will express their wealth in more subdued ways. A recent survey conducted by American Express indicated that more than half of the wealthy queried felt guilty about making luxury purchases. As the quality of life for the majority of Americans continues to decline, the country's mood is likely to make the rich feel even more conspicuous about their consumption. And some of the mammoth homes in the valley, like the one being auctioned north of Ketchum, may well become as undesirable as Norma Desmond's "white elephant" on Sunset Boulevard.
The downturn in the economy has dramatically slowed the pace of construction in Blaine County, but someday activity will resume. This is the perfect opportunity to rethink how the valley gets built. Perhaps the Jon Thorson administration was on to something in Sun Valley, when it tried to pass an ordinance limiting the size of a house. Hopefully, the people who re-ignite construction in the valley will do it with a conscience, aware that whether they can afford it or not, the excess of a log home six times larger than the national average just isn't right. If not, perhaps social guilt will be the motivation, as people try to avoid being singled out for conspicuous consumption. But rather than rely on guilt or good intentions, perhaps we should think about just making it law.
