I wrote software for an environmental consulting firm. It is the dark side of construction and permitting in the US. Basically, people that worked in government

I wrote software for an environmental consulting firm. It is the dark side of construction and permitting in the US. Basically, people that worked in government permitting would leave their job after 10 years in the public service then work for us in the private sector. Let's say you wanted to build a mall. You would need us to come in analyze the land check for vernal pools, cultural artifacts, rare species of salamanders... the list is 20 pages long. We would then run software (me!) to find places which you could pay to protect (the pay off)- in order to get a permit for plowing over that area. Our firm would spend months analyzing a rock to ensure it wasn't an arrow head or watch if bats would bread in your area. "Why can’t America build quickly anymore?" I would say permitting is a large portion of the answer. If you wanted to build without knowing this system or you fought it - your application would sit in some bureaucratic office for years. Somewhat off topic: https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1376644161172987905?lan https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1376644161172987905?lan... bill maher wanting to build a shed in CA. Hilarious.