We had roughly the funding situation we have now under the much more corrupt party boss system but projects came in on time (and cheaper than now...still often

We had roughly the funding situation we have now under the much more corrupt party boss system but projects came in on time (and cheaper than now...still often overbudget). As bad as grift and corruption are, it did ensure that everyone had skin in the game and that money flowed in two directions. Mostly everyone had to make good on their promises. At the extremes there are bad examples of corruption where nothing got done, sure, but nothing getting done is the norm now with very little corruption. Basic game theory predicts how these systems will play out. I really wonder why people are surprised with the results we get today. The biggest cost overruns today are from delays.