[throwaway420]

a) Is it really a net gain for the economy? Not really, unless this hole has some other future productive use, because you're ignoring what this money would have otherwise gone to pay for in lieu of this hole.

b) Funnily enough, the example of paying people to dig random holes is frequently given in economics arguments to illustrate why the Subjective theory of value makes more sense than the Labor theory of value.

C) Holes are made to be filled. Next year's gag is probably filling the hole back up with something.

[brentm]

I'd say it is a net gain. The money went to pay the company that dug the hole who used the money to pay their contractors working on the project, equipment leases, gasoline, etc. It will also end up being mentioned on the various blog and news outlets all selling ads against the story of the hole. CAH will also sell more product because of the hole & subsequent publicity. It looks like an increase in GDP (aka net gain for the economy) to me.

[johan_larson]

All the money I don't spend on absurd acts of Dadaism I just spend on liquor, which is bad for me and occasionally for those around me. So the world is probably a little bit better off for the money I spent on digging this hole.

[state_less]

It's meant to be useless. That's the punch line. All the same activity to burry a fiber optic cable would give you better communications in the end. Now could you make a story about laying fiber exciting? Enough for people to donate to? Maybe not.

The sleeper must awaken.

[bjourne]

It's technically (I say "technically", ask an economist and they will have to admit it is "very definitely") a net gain because they are selling a service and people are paying for it. The GDP is the total sum of all goods and services sold and this hole will increase that total by a small amount. I think the hole digging is hilarious and very clever. :)

[soVeryTired]

GDP is gross domestic product. The problem is in the term "gross": GDP doesn't measure depreciation.

Arguably here they're pumping $X per day into a project that is also depreciating at $X per day (i.e. no net value is produced, ignoring the entertainment value of the stunt). So the project contributes to GDP but not to net wealth.

The failure to account for depreciation is one of the major problems with GDP as a measure of prosperity.

[throwaway729]

A) Like iPads replacing last year's perfectly working model that become waste in two years? That's kinda the point.

C) Like e waste for Christmases past?

[VodkaHaze]

The whole digging holes theory of aggregate demand is what's called "vulgar Keynesianism"

[savoytruffle]

The only natural enemy of the hole is the pile.