The cost of unnecessary delays is explored in detail in a report by Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard titled “Two Years, Not Ten Years.” It found that red tape delays for infrastructure more than double the cost of large projects.
Common Good
Two Years, Not Ten Years.
Rebuilding America’s decrepit infrastructure requires a new permitting system. Approvals today can take a decade, sometimes longer. Delay dramatically adds to costs, and prevents projects from getting off the drawing board. Delay prolongs bottlenecks which waste time and energy, causing America to lag behind global competitors.
Obsolete facilities continue to spew carbon into the air and waste into our waters. Red tape is not the price of good government; it is the enemy of good government. Time is money: America could modernize its infrastructure, at half the cost, while dramatically enhancing environmental benefits, with a two-year approval process.
