America: A country that can't build anything anymore

It is now too costly and time-consuming to finish public-works projects, says Jonah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times. But don't blame conservatives

Boston's "Big Dig" began in the 1980s and the last ramp of the mega tunnel project opened in 2006.
(Image credit: Corbis)

"This country can't build stuff the way it used to," argues Jonah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times. Big public-works projects that once were quick and commonplace have now turned into logistical and financial nightmares that drag on decades. And don't buy the line from the "liberal intelligentsia" that "anti-government" conservatism is to blame. The real reason? Unions, environmental regulations, and other government "bloat" have hardened "Uncle Sam's arteries." Here, an excerpt:

It took 410 days to build the Empire State Building; four years to erect the Golden Gate Bridge. The Pentagon took two years; the Alaska Highway just nine months. These days it takes longer to build an overpass.

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