We can’t build stuff the way we used to

In fairness, Uncle Sam’s sloth and bloat is not all bad news. Americans used to tolerate a much higher level of workplace mortality for such projects.

And to be sure, not all environmental regulations are overkill. One reason we couldn’t build a Hoover Dam today is that such projects do incredible violence to the natural environment. (I’m always amused by the stylish environmentalism of many Southern Californians who don’t realize that Mother Nature intended for SoCal to be a desert where snakes outnumber hybrid cars.)

The simple reality is that Uncle Sam’s arteries are hardened. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush’s allegedly tardy response was seen as proof that conservatism itself was inadequate to the demands of responsible government. But it wasn’t conservatism that had some volunteer firefighters out of commission because they were in Atlanta for sexual harassment training and video tutorials about how great FEMA is. Nor does conservatism demand blind obedience to the Davis-Bacon Act, the union-friendly rule originally intended to keep blacks out of the public workforce that is now used to pump up wages on every project.