Comment by Telemakhos
6 days ago
His book also proceeds from the unquestioned assumption that people working on things like high-speed rail and affordable housing want it to come to fruition, much as you suspect that his critics do not want them to come to fruition. The alternative possibility that maybe needs a glance is that the projects' strongest backers have no intention of bringing those projects to pass, but rather desire to funnel the funds needed for the bureaucratic steps to their cronies. This is sometimes cited in criticism of California's high-speed rail: people working on the studies and processes necessary for bureaucracy are being paid, although the actual train will not be built. Maybe the train (or the Seattle parking spaces) are not actually what some part of the powers behind the project want, because they want really their friends to get paid for the bureaucratic work on the project.
I'm not following this take.
In either case, wouldn't everyone (except these corrupt powers) prefer for less bureaucracy hampering the project?
Unless I'm misunderstanding you, a breakdown of this "unquestioned assumption" makes Ezra's argument stronger, not weaker.
Not if your job is part of the bureaucracy, then you want to keep the bureaucracy running for as long as possible to keep your job for as long as possible.
It also gives you a sense of importance: nothing can get built without my full permission and approval and recognition.