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This is the Willie Brown approach: “News that the Transbay Terminal is something like $300 million over budget should not come as a shock to anyone. We always
by abduhl 4y ago
This is the Willie Brown approach:
“News that the Transbay Terminal is something like $300 million over budget should not come as a shock to anyone. We always knew the initial estimate was way under the real cost. Just like we never had a real cost for the Central Subway or the Bay Bridge or any other massive construction project.
So get off it. In the world of civic projects, the first budget is really just a down payment. If people knew the real cost from the start, nothing would ever be approved. The idea is to get going. Start digging a hole and make it so big, there's no alternative to coming up with the money to fill it in.”
- bumby 4y agoUnfortunately, public projects also have to manage public perception. Just like you wouldn't appreciate, say, a roofing estimate to be later called a "down payment," the public in general doesn't like that approach either. "We don't know how much it'll cost but just trust us and let's just get started" isn't a particularly palatable sales pitch, especially in domains with a long history of corruption.
- asdff 4y agoAt the same time, you gotta give people the medicine they need. They have no concept of what a fair price on the market is for a subway line being build in your city with all the local considerations you have. No one does, that's the whole trick of it. At some point though, people need subways, they need sewers, they need bridges, and if we give them the shot to just turn their nose at anything good that seems expensive, we'd probably still be dumping our buckets out onto the street at night versus requiring plumbing.
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- lazide 4y agoThat sounds like the justification I hear from scammers and con artists. No joke.