Constraint Alchemy

A coastal town's economy depends on summer tourism, but a new environmental regulation bans all motorised watercraft within 2km of shore from April to September to protect a nesting seabird colony. Jet ski rentals, parasailing, and motorboat tours — the town's three biggest attractions — are now illegal during peak season. The town has beaches, hiking trails, a small harbour with sailing boats, and a marine biology research station.

A pharmaceutical company has a drug that passed all safety trials but failed its efficacy trial for the intended condition (chronic pain). The drug has no meaningful painkilling effect, but trial data shows it consistently produced two unexpected side effects: significantly improved sleep quality and reduced anxiety in 70% of participants. The company has already spent $200M on development and the drug is proven safe. Regulatory rules mean they cannot market it for pain.

A city-centre office building (15 floors, 200,000 sq ft) has lost 80% of its tenants to remote work. The building owner still pays full property tax, maintenance, and mortgage. Commercial real estate in the area has collapsed — no companies are signing traditional office leases. The building has high-speed fibre internet on every floor, a ground-floor lobby with street frontage, freight elevators, and loading docks. Converting to residential would cost $40M and take 3 years.

A national postal service is losing letter volume (down 60% in a decade) but still maintains daily delivery routes to every address in the country — including rural areas no private courier will serve. It has the most comprehensive address database in the nation, a fleet of vehicles that visit every neighbourhood daily, and a trusted brand. The government will not subsidise it further.