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>Although environmental regulations and requirements in most European countries are as elaborate as U.S. regulations, the environmental review processes are gen

>Although environmental regulations and requirements in most European countries are as elaborate as U.S. regulations, the environmental review processes are generally better streamlined, and approval is obtained faster than in the United States. The idea that U.S. regulations are simply administered more poorly than European ones reminds me of the U.S. tax system. For years, anti-tax people in the U.S. (and the tax prep industry) have blocked changes that would simplify filing taxes. They think (correctly imo) people will like taxes less if they're hellishly complicated to file. Is something similar has been happening with other regulatory requirements? I would be interested to read about it if anyone has any sources.

nostromo 6y ago
> They think (correctly imo) people will like taxes less if they're hellishly complicated to file. Their actual argument is that we should simplify the code itself, not try and hide its complexity from the payers using some computer system only available to the IRS. They do think that you should have to file every year though, that is correct. That forces a bit of visibility and accountability on the government in that it shows people just how much they're working for the government before working for themselves. This is similar to how the US makes sales tax visible to the payer, rather than hiding them behind an invisible VAT. It's about transparency.
- vkou 6y ago
  > They do think that you should have to file every year though, that is correct. That forces a bit of visibility and accountability on the government in that it shows people just how much they're working for the government before working for themselves. People would know this if they'd just get a tax bill sent to them. Believe me, people who live in countries where filing your taxes occupies ~5-minutes of brainspace per year aren't ignorant children. They know how much they are paying.
- girvo 6y ago
  There is zero difference in transparency between my calculating what taxes will be added to the sticker price, or my calculating what taxes were added to the sticker price (here in Aus). In fact the latter is easier.
- mattkrause 6y ago
  I'm not sure that's Intuit's actual argument: https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-turbotax-20-year-fight-to-stop-americans-from-filing-their-taxes-for-free https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-turbotax-20-year-f...
- realityking 6y ago
  > This is similar to how the US makes sales tax visible to the payer, rather than hiding them behind an invisible VAT. It's about transparency. Here in Germany, and I believe in all of Europe, every single invoice and receipt I’ve ever received includes both the gross and the net price. It has to because of how VAT can be deducted for business expenses. Similarly my monthly pay slip spells out exactly how much I’ve paid this month for income tax, church tax, solidarity tax (this one is related to the German reunification), health insurance, retirements insurance and unemployment insurance. It also includes how much I’ve in the year up to today. Nothing is hidden and most folks know very well how much they’re paying at least in aggregate. We just don’t make it difficult to pay.
wiml 6y ago
I know nothing about the tunnel boring industry in particular, but in some cases this is a form of regulatory capture. A large established industry player can afford to navigate the difficult regulations (either through scale, expertise, backdoor connections, etc), but a smaller upstart competitor can't.
- asdff 6y ago
  I had a conversation with someone professionally familiar with the planning process for metro transit in LA and this is pretty much what they told me. The process is so complicated that even if metro themselves wanted to hire labor in house and save due to being able to run things at cost rather than for profit, there wouldn't be any talent available that is able to navigate the regulatory process as those brains have long since been hired by companies like Tutor Perini. Even if metro wanted to do things in house, they wouldn't even know where to start with what is necessary for regulatory approval as that ground has been covered by private contractors for two decades. It's such a screwed up situation and is perfectly designed to enrich shareholders at the expense of the public purse, just a perfectly oiled machine. Metro doesn't even accept the cheapest bids, they continually turn to Tutor Perini because that is the only contractor with people familiar with the regulatory process. I'm not sure how you ever right the ship in this case. Pretty depressing.
  - EricE 6y ago
    "I'm not sure how you ever right the ship in this case." You force reform. Like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykQdG51clqk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykQdG51clqk The economy the last four years speaks for itself. And even more shocking - the world didn't end, air is still breathable, water is still clean - amazing!

nostromo 6y ago

> They think (correctly imo) people will like taxes less if they're hellishly complicated to file. Their actual argument is that we should simplify the code itself, not try and hide its complexity from the payers using some computer system only available to the IRS. They do think that you should have to file every year though, that is correct. That forces a bit of visibility and accountability on the government in that it shows people just how much they're working for the government before working for themselves. This is similar to how the US makes sales tax visible to the payer, rather than hiding them behind an invisible VAT. It's about transparency.

vkou 6y ago
> They do think that you should have to file every year though, that is correct. That forces a bit of visibility and accountability on the government in that it shows people just how much they're working for the government before working for themselves. People would know this if they'd just get a tax bill sent to them. Believe me, people who live in countries where filing your taxes occupies ~5-minutes of brainspace per year aren't ignorant children. They know how much they are paying.
girvo 6y ago
There is zero difference in transparency between my calculating what taxes will be added to the sticker price, or my calculating what taxes were added to the sticker price (here in Aus). In fact the latter is easier.
mattkrause 6y ago
I'm not sure that's Intuit's actual argument: https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-turbotax-20-year-fight-to-stop-americans-from-filing-their-taxes-for-free https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-turbotax-20-year-f...
realityking 6y ago
> This is similar to how the US makes sales tax visible to the payer, rather than hiding them behind an invisible VAT. It's about transparency. Here in Germany, and I believe in all of Europe, every single invoice and receipt I’ve ever received includes both the gross and the net price. It has to because of how VAT can be deducted for business expenses. Similarly my monthly pay slip spells out exactly how much I’ve paid this month for income tax, church tax, solidarity tax (this one is related to the German reunification), health insurance, retirements insurance and unemployment insurance. It also includes how much I’ve in the year up to today. Nothing is hidden and most folks know very well how much they’re paying at least in aggregate. We just don’t make it difficult to pay.

wiml 6y ago

I know nothing about the tunnel boring industry in particular, but in some cases this is a form of regulatory capture. A large established industry player can afford to navigate the difficult regulations (either through scale, expertise, backdoor connections, etc), but a smaller upstart competitor can't.

asdff 6y ago
I had a conversation with someone professionally familiar with the planning process for metro transit in LA and this is pretty much what they told me. The process is so complicated that even if metro themselves wanted to hire labor in house and save due to being able to run things at cost rather than for profit, there wouldn't be any talent available that is able to navigate the regulatory process as those brains have long since been hired by companies like Tutor Perini. Even if metro wanted to do things in house, they wouldn't even know where to start with what is necessary for regulatory approval as that ground has been covered by private contractors for two decades. It's such a screwed up situation and is perfectly designed to enrich shareholders at the expense of the public purse, just a perfectly oiled machine. Metro doesn't even accept the cheapest bids, they continually turn to Tutor Perini because that is the only contractor with people familiar with the regulatory process. I'm not sure how you ever right the ship in this case. Pretty depressing.
- EricE 6y ago
  "I'm not sure how you ever right the ship in this case." You force reform. Like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykQdG51clqk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykQdG51clqk The economy the last four years speaks for itself. And even more shocking - the world didn't end, air is still breathable, water is still clean - amazing!