Why is the USA unable to complete large public infrastructure projects? (lawyer, weapon)

[Huckleberry3911948]

choked to death by our lobby controlled EPA laws.
too many brother in law deals done to grant contracts and buy votes.
government no longer leads, it is rented out to highest bidder.
did i mention also that we have run out of money?

[Gnutella]

Liberals love public works projects until they're built in their backyards. Conservatives love public works projects until they have to pay for them.

[nedergras]

Originally Posted by 66nexus

Europe may be ahead of us in said categories, but most Americans wouldn't stand for the taxes they pay for things like healthcare/transport etc.

Also, in the US, we do things on a profitable basis (not necessarily out of need). Union labor (at least in the NY-area) can drive up costs.

And to top it off, the US has always been based on a car culture and isn't nearly as dense as Europe.

This is the main problem, everything constructed nowadays in the US are done by the lowest bidder, whereas in Europe and parts of Asia like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore things are done where quality is priority, regardless of the costs.

Our interstates will never be as good as European motorways, high speed rail will never come to fruition because local governments will fight tooth and nail to protect the airplane industry like Boeing, Lockheed, Cessna, etc. that are located in their communities.

100 million more people in the USA in the next 20 years, but we're barely even preparing for the added strain to the current infrastructure without constructing new interstates, rail lines, etc.

We're not the same Americans that our predecessors were, they didn't have it as good as we have it, so we've become complacent, too litigious and lazy to ever have huge public works projects in this country to ever come to fruition. We can't even manage to rebuild the WTC in a decade, what makes anyone think the USA is still competitive on the world stage?

[Gantz]

Originally Posted by nedergras

We can't even manage to rebuild the WTC in a decade, what makes anyone think the USA is still competitive on the world stage?

Bad example here. They are building WTC with a speed of 1 floor per week, up to the 88th floor right now. Remember, the WTC collapsed on a subway station below it, and they couldn't start building the new towers until they reconnected the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, E, J, Z, N, R subway trains underground and get the whole system water-cooled.

[DC's Finest]

Originally Posted by nedergras

This is the main problem, everything constructed nowadays in the US are done by the lowest bidder, whereas in Europe and parts of Asia like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore things are done where quality is priority, regardless of the costs.

Our interstates will never be as good as European motorways, high speed rail will never come to fruition because local governments will fight tooth and nail to protect the airplane industry like Boeing, Lockheed, Cessna, etc. that are located in their communities.

100 million more people in the USA in the next 20 years, but we're barely even preparing for the added strain to the current infrastructure without constructing new interstates, rail lines, etc.

We're not the same Americans that our predecessors were, they didn't have it as good as we have it, so we've become complacent, too litigious and lazy to ever have huge public works projects in this country to ever come to fruition. We can't even manage to rebuild the WTC in a decade, what makes anyone think the USA is still competitive on the world stage?

This. But I really don't think money is an issue. Most Americans have a distorted view of taxes. I see and hear it all the time. I was on this forum in the political section and people were b*tching about government funded free lunch programs in schools. Are we really that heartless that we can stop funding a program that feeds kids but we can spend a billion dollars on a single jet fighter?

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by DC's Finest

This. But I really don't think money is an issue. Most Americans have a distorted view of taxes. I see and hear it all the time. I was on this forum in the political section and people were b*tching about government funded free lunch programs in schools. Are we really that heartless that we can stop funding a program that feeds kids but we can spend a billion dollars on a single jet fighter?

I feel sorry for their children..

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Liberals love public works projects until they're built in their backyards. Conservatives love public works projects until they have to pay for them.

I think this is far more true than the former. Conservatives generally like to romanticize about "American Exceptionalism," except they forget that PUBLIC INVESTMENTS are largely what made this country so exceptional (tangibly speaking). Without increasing investments, we're definitely on track to lose -- and many would argue we already have -- that exceptionalism. Infrastructure funding is a prime example of this.

[Psykomonkee]

Because we suck.......

Really, when asked about large scale projects and stuff like that in America (particularly certain areas such as Atlanta and Washington DC) I laugh and the phrase, "Too many Chiefs, not enough Indians" comes to mind...

We suck at collective ideas, because nobody can agree on anything these days. Everyone wants their voice heard so badly, that we can't even slow down to listen to others' ideas and come to agreements. We can even agree that we disagree. Getting anything done in America requires pulling teeth!!! Or at least it feels that way.

We can't just have someone who's job it is to identify the need and allocate the money to fill it. We have to vote on the need, then vote on whether or not to allocate the funds. Then vote on where the funds will come from. Then vote on this, and vote on that... Before you know it, we're 11 years down the line and still haven't put a shoval in the dirt to start building the Atlanta Beltli... Oops, I mean to start building whatever it is we need.
(and before the Atlanta boosters jump all over me, I know that they've already broken ground for the project. I'm just saying, it sure is taking forever in Atlanta. Always does, if it even happens).

[Psykomonkee]

Originally Posted by Duderino

I think this is far more true than the former. Conservatives generally like to romanticize about "American Exceptionalism," except they forget that PUBLIC INVESTMENTS are largely what made this country so exceptional (tangibly speaking). Without increasing investments, we're definitely on track to lose -- and many would argue we already have -- that exceptionalism. Infrastructure funding is a prime example of this.

I agree with you buddy!!!

[bluescityleon]

that's right, Trump is right, Ron Paul is right.