The U.S. is capable of building and running great things, but we seem to be able to mire every effort down so much that the costs spiral out of control. We also

The U.S. is capable of building and running great things, but we seem to be able to mire every effort down so much that the costs spiral out of control. We also tend to delay delay delay so much that we lose on the very simple time-value of money principle. D.C. Metro Silver line and the 2nd Ave subway line in NYC are big reminders of this. Silver line is about $300/mi almost entirely above ground on existing right of way. There are relatively few stops per mile as well so most of the line is just pure above ground or elevated track. 2nd Ave Subway is running something like $2.3billion per mile. When you compare to other developed economies, and their costs of line construction, these costs are basically indefensible.