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Completely agree! The hard parts seems to be figuring out (1) how to cut red tape for only certain projects and (2) figuring out what red tape to keep. Cheste

Completely agree! The hard parts seems to be figuring out (1) how to cut red tape for only certain projects and (2) figuring out what red tape to keep. Chesterton's fence and all that.

thereisnospork 2y ago
If you have to cut red tape for certain projects, the tape probably shouldn't exist in the first place. edit: for instance, if you have e.g. an environmental regulation that is so onerous that exemptions must be doled out for something as sensible as train electrification, then you don't have an environmental review regulation, you have a 'build nothing except what the exemptor decrees' regulation. Which is rather antithetical to the rule of law and good governance.
- Dalewyn 2y ago
  As a former Californian, you try saying that and you'll be labeled a crazy person railing against the machine. Bureaucracies everywhere tend to protect itself, but California's is particularly vicious. There is a reason many of us call the place Commiefornia.
huijzer 2y ago
I’m getting more and more convinced that this is a main problem all over the West. In Germany, a business owner called Marco Scheel is becoming more and more popular by being very outspoken about how bureaucracy is hindering him. His company is called Nordwolle by the way. They make clothing out of sheep wool. They spend a lot of effort finding the right type of wool so they don’t need chemicals to paint it. One major example which Marco first became popular with was that he owned a barn but wasn’t allowed to use it for the factory since it was a farm on paper. The government told him to move to a designated factory area. He argued that it made no sense since he was living in a very remote area, and the barn was of high quality. What else should he do with the barn? Why would he need to build something new somewhere else? The barn was there already and stood already for hundreds of years. His most popular quote is something along the lines of “we can’t all sit with a Chai latte and a MacBook in a coworking space in Berlin and make the 5th dating app. We need some people who do that but not everyone. Some people need to make things with their hands! And for that I need space! I don’t need glass fibre. I need space!”
- sofixa 2y ago
  > One major example which Marco first became popular with was that he owned a barn but wasn’t allowed to use it for the factory since it was a farm on paper. The government told him to move to a designated factory area. He argued that it made no sense since he was living in a very remote area, and the barn was of high quality. What else should he do with the barn? Why would he need to build something new somewhere else? The barn was there already and stood already for hundreds of years. Of course it makes sense. Farmland is dedicated to farming and producing food/related things. It lacks connectivity, has fertile soil, prices are cheaper. If anyone can just build a factory there, they will have a negative ecological impact (interrupt animal flows, pollute in areas that are supposed to be cleaner, etc). It's the same reason why you can't farm in an industrial zone, nor can you set up a factory in the middle of the city. Yes, it can be taken too far and abused, but absolutely 100% makes sense and must exist.
  - krona 2y ago
    The guy's not building a gigafactory in his garden, is he? > If anyone can just build a factory there, they will have a negative ecological impact (interrupt animal flows, pollute in areas that are supposed to be cleaner, etc). All true of farming. FWIW as a fellow NIMBY myself, I use the excuse of 'animal flow' (in particular the flow of bats) to prevent anyone from putting anything more than a fence up within 150m of my house. It's great!
    - sofixa 2y ago
      > The guy's not building a gigafactory in his garden, is he? How could this possibly be known without a review in your opinion? > fellow NIMBY myself Unless you're American, things don't have to be so binary. The choice isn't between nothing gets built or anyone can just do whatever. We need a balance. > All true of farming I'm pretty sure birds and bees and what not prefer having plants than factories.
      - krona 2y ago
        > How could this possibly be known without a review in your opinion? By all means, have planning applications and a system to process them. Things don't have to be so binary.

Completely agree! The hard parts seems to be figuring out (1) how to cut red tape for only certain projects and (2) figuring out what red tape to keep. Chesterton's fence and all that.

thereisnospork 2y ago

If you have to cut red tape for certain projects, the tape probably shouldn't exist in the first place. edit: for instance, if you have e.g. an environmental regulation that is so onerous that exemptions must be doled out for something as sensible as train electrification, then you don't have an environmental review regulation, you have a 'build nothing except what the exemptor decrees' regulation. Which is rather antithetical to the rule of law and good governance.

Dalewyn 2y ago
As a former Californian, you try saying that and you'll be labeled a crazy person railing against the machine. Bureaucracies everywhere tend to protect itself, but California's is particularly vicious. There is a reason many of us call the place Commiefornia.

huijzer 2y ago

I’m getting more and more convinced that this is a main problem all over the West. In Germany, a business owner called Marco Scheel is becoming more and more popular by being very outspoken about how bureaucracy is hindering him. His company is called Nordwolle by the way. They make clothing out of sheep wool. They spend a lot of effort finding the right type of wool so they don’t need chemicals to paint it. One major example which Marco first became popular with was that he owned a barn but wasn’t allowed to use it for the factory since it was a farm on paper. The government told him to move to a designated factory area. He argued that it made no sense since he was living in a very remote area, and the barn was of high quality. What else should he do with the barn? Why would he need to build something new somewhere else? The barn was there already and stood already for hundreds of years. His most popular quote is something along the lines of “we can’t all sit with a Chai latte and a MacBook in a coworking space in Berlin and make the 5th dating app. We need some people who do that but not everyone. Some people need to make things with their hands! And for that I need space! I don’t need glass fibre. I need space!”

sofixa 2y ago
> One major example which Marco first became popular with was that he owned a barn but wasn’t allowed to use it for the factory since it was a farm on paper. The government told him to move to a designated factory area. He argued that it made no sense since he was living in a very remote area, and the barn was of high quality. What else should he do with the barn? Why would he need to build something new somewhere else? The barn was there already and stood already for hundreds of years. Of course it makes sense. Farmland is dedicated to farming and producing food/related things. It lacks connectivity, has fertile soil, prices are cheaper. If anyone can just build a factory there, they will have a negative ecological impact (interrupt animal flows, pollute in areas that are supposed to be cleaner, etc). It's the same reason why you can't farm in an industrial zone, nor can you set up a factory in the middle of the city. Yes, it can be taken too far and abused, but absolutely 100% makes sense and must exist.
- krona 2y ago
  The guy's not building a gigafactory in his garden, is he? > If anyone can just build a factory there, they will have a negative ecological impact (interrupt animal flows, pollute in areas that are supposed to be cleaner, etc). All true of farming. FWIW as a fellow NIMBY myself, I use the excuse of 'animal flow' (in particular the flow of bats) to prevent anyone from putting anything more than a fence up within 150m of my house. It's great!
  - sofixa 2y ago
    > The guy's not building a gigafactory in his garden, is he? How could this possibly be known without a review in your opinion? > fellow NIMBY myself Unless you're American, things don't have to be so binary. The choice isn't between nothing gets built or anyone can just do whatever. We need a balance. > All true of farming I'm pretty sure birds and bees and what not prefer having plants than factories.
    - krona 2y ago
      > How could this possibly be known without a review in your opinion? By all means, have planning applications and a system to process them. Things don't have to be so binary.