yeah. so frustrating reading any comments thread about infrastructure

one of the chief reasons stuff is so expensive in the US is the insistence on using consultants and private contractors for literally every little thing

and to control costs, all these laws and regulations were created, very reasonable sounding, that were supposed to prevent govt waste and corruption

things like being forced to always take the lowest bid, always bidding on the end of every single contract, blind bids, etc

in a sane world, if you had a contractor who did a great job, you'd keep them. in the land of govt contracts, they're often forced to re-bid for the work, and often lose out. no way for them to lower their bid to match, they're just out. never mind that the new consultant is gonna burn 6 months of cash just getting up to speed, we're saving!

or on literally any infrastructure project. if someone bid honestly, i guarantee you the planners/engineers etc could tell you they're the ones to go with. but in reality, a shitty contractor can underbid on purpose, the choice is completely out of the hands of anyone competent, and once they have the job what is the govt going to do? build half a tunnel? switch contractors halfway through?

the entire system has been designed to fail, all because our main assumption about public employees is they can't be trusted to make good decisions. that private industry always does it better, and to prove that we're going to take away all agency from those awful government bureaucrats and give it to private consultants... at 3x the cost.

and if you are a competent govt employee, this system is almost certainly going to drive you out - why work somewhere where nothing you do matters and everyone hates you?

How does Paris build so much, so cheap, with heavily unionized 1st world labor in a densely packed, old, catacombs riddled city? They let boring public bureaucrats handle the planning and engineering, and then when they're ready to build they keep their contractors on a tight, tight leash. That's how