5 ms·
No that isn't one of the reasons given. The bigger reasons are: a) US unwillingness to learn best practices from other countries about how to keep costs of con
by rodonn 5y ago
No that isn't one of the reasons given.
The bigger reasons are:
a) US unwillingness to learn best practices from other countries about how to keep costs of construction down, especially for public transit infrastructure.
b) US builds much bigger + fancier stations for the trains compared to other countries, which drives up cost
c) US procurement is done based on cost alone, which leads to frequent cost overruns and delays.
d) a lack of internal managerial competence and instead relying frequently on costly external consultants
e) bad political incentives
- jimmyed 5y agoWell, thank you. The reliance on external "consultants" seems like a cabal, much like the ones you find in the Pakistani army. How rampant is corruption in the states?
- wayoutthere 5y agoMunicipal governments in the US tend to be incredibly corrupt, and consultants are generally the vectors of that. Not as bad as India or Pakistan, but definitely worse than every other “western” country. Most municipal governments in large cities are overwhelmingly left-leaning, which means the elections aren’t really competitive and politicians can be as corrupt as they want (do nothing jobs for relatives, pick and choose which developers are allocated which land, arbitrarily deny permits, etc) with no repercussions. The party exists to play kingmaker and drive turnout for the general elections. The only thing that’s starting to change is that far-left parties are having some success at the local level. My city has multiple city council members who ran under a socialist party, which would have been completely unheard of 10 years ago.
- jimmyed 5y agoAre you suggesting that far left politicians are less corrupt?
- fallingfrog 5y agoCurrently, yes, that is the dynamic. They take special pride in not accepting money from corporations, lobbyists, big real estate, etc and the politician to lobbyist to consultant pipeline is the main center of corruption in the country today. For example, Jim Crowley is now a highly paid consultant for Squier Patton Boggs. In other times and places that may not have been the case but right now, the far left is noticeably less corrupt than the center or the right.
- jimmyed 5y agoThe problem with the new far left (and new politicians in general) is they are corrupt for power, whereas the swamp is corrupt for money.
- wayoutthere 5y agoI’m not even sure what this means? Power politics aren’t “corrupt”, they’re just politics. The power determines who gets the money / resources; in the case of the far-left that generally ends up being the working class. Things have been out of balance for so long there is a lot of sentiment in favor of wealth distribution right now. The power is a means to an end.
- Ericson2314 5y agoAnd how is the opposition not supposed to appear desirous of more power?
- joshgrib 5y agoIt's probably fair to say most "outside" candidates would be less corrupt than someone entrenched in the existing political structure. But also anecdotally, in the US the more moderate liberal part of the left doesn't care much about corruption, but the farther left socialist part does a lot because they see it as a roadblock to gaining power. Anyone currently in power wouldn't be as concerned about corruption because they actively benefit from it
- intergalplan 5y ago
- wespiser_2018 5y agoReliance on external management was exactly what saved the Green Line extension.
- bluGill 5y agoexternal consultants can be good or bad. There are always things you can't do yourself. Anyone reading this could grab a shovel and dig a subway - it is obvious that you won't get very far alone before you die, those who are lucky will die of old age, while the rest of us not knowing how to tunnel safety will dig in a tunnel collapse. However I gave you a budget you can hire experts in safely digging tunnels fast. Likewise, I can' draw a line on the map and say we should go here, but I need lots of consultants to make it reality: geologists to tell me if the soil will work, engineers to ensure that the train fits in the tunnel (curves), different engineers to ensure that the tunnel walls are thick enough to last (in turn advised by the geologists), and so on. The problem is there are useful consultants, and consultants that charge you a lot of money for things that you want but don't really need. You need to reign in the later, or decide that they are worth spending on - your choice. I personally would prefer a small utilitarian station, but maybe you think the most expensive stations in the world are worth the cost.