> ...from cutting unneeded maintenance to paying the lowest possible salaries will catch up with you in 10-20 years when the system collapses... I don't think

> ...from cutting unneeded maintenance to paying the lowest possible salaries will catch up with you in 10-20 years when the system collapses... I don't think you're taking a clear view of the incentive structure around expensive capital assets. These are massive investments in infrastructure that often need to be paid back over 10-20 year periods before they make a profit. At some point the investment becomes so huge that the owners are incentivised to run even at a loss for a year or so to avoid the pain of writing down the capital they spent so much on. Skimping on maintenance and salaries isn't what the incentives push towards in a free market. In fact, having worked in similar environments, there is a slight tendency to overpay on salaries and over-invest in maintenance since they make relatively little difference to the profitability of the project and the derisking is extremely valuable. If an investor isn't planning on paying for maintenance and playing a long game, infrastructure investment is unlikely to appeal (at least not in a standard free market).