I think this post unveils a great truth that I never grasped: estimates are a political tool to decide what gets done and what doesn't get done. Thanks for putting it so nicely!

One thing that I'd like to understand then is _why_... Why doesn't management use a more direct way of saying it? Instead of asking for estimates, why don't they say: we have until date X, what can we do? Is it just some American way of being polite? I am sincerely curious :)

I think because capitalist employment is inherently adversarial. If employers (and managers) reveal the time budget, employees may take advantage and reduce output to expand to fill the deadline. Tight schedules squeeze employees, so hiding the real time constraint allows management to exert pressure by adjusting the deadline. Employees that realize the bluff and ignore fake schedule pressure can be identified, marginalized, and eliminated.

Avoiding this degrading game is half the reason I preferred contracting.