From: allin
Recent discussions highlight significant inefficiencies and alleged political motivations behind large-scale government spending on infrastructure projects [00:32:28]. The podcast hosts point to two major examples: a problematic course management portal and the stalled rural broadband and EV charging initiatives.
Cases of Inefficiency and Waste
NYC Course Management Portal
A course management portal for New York City was built for a cost of 400 million requested for customization, potentially bringing the total to $1 billion [00:32:12]. Despite the massive investment, the resulting product is described as “garbage,” resembling a SharePoint site that could have been created for 1% of the cost using more modern platforms [00:32:37]. This expenditure is cited as an example of egregious government waste and inefficiency, with suspicions of regulatory capture and long-standing relationships leading to such inflated contracts [00:32:47].
Rural Broadband and EV Charging Initiatives
Two programs from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed in 2021 are brought into question [00:34:08]:
- Rural Broadband: $42 billion was allocated to provide high-speed internet to rural areas [00:34:14]. After 1,000 days since the bill’s passage, zero people have been connected, according to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr [00:34:31].
- EV Chargers: $7.5 billion was designated to build 500,000 EV chargers over 10 years [00:34:20]. As of May, only eight chargers had been built [00:34:39].
Private industry has already demonstrated solutions for both issues, with Starlink being deployed on commercial airlines for internet access and the private sector building over a thousand charging stations in the second half of 2023 alone [00:34:44].
Reasons for Failure and Lack of Progress
The issues with these projects are attributed to a combination of factors:
- Government Waste, Fraud, and Abuse [00:35:54]: Critics argue that a fraction of the allocated money could have provided superior services through private solutions like Starlink [00:36:02].
- Incompetence [00:35:34]: The government is seen as grossly incompetent and inefficient in program execution [00:36:20].
- Political Retaliation and Partisanship [00:36:23]: The FCC reportedly cancelled an $885 million contract with Starlink by falsely claiming it was incapable of providing high-speed internet [00:36:32]. Later, the FCC claimed Starlink provided so much high-speed internet that the term “monopoly” should be considered [00:36:48]. This is seen as a “pure naked retaliation” by the Biden-Harris Administration against Elon Musk, similar to excluding him from an EV summit [00:36:57]. This political motivation is costing taxpayers immense amounts of money [00:37:39].
- Desensitization to Waste [00:38:00]: There’s a concern that the sheer scale of government spending has desensitized the public to what constitutes a large amount of waste, with $50 billion being an enormous sum that goes largely unnoticed [00:38:03].
- Lack of Accountability [00:39:01]: The media’s tribalism prevents coverage of such issues, especially if it means acknowledging the success of individuals or companies disliked by a particular political alignment [00:38:40]. This leads to a lack of accountability within the government [00:39:01].
- Perverse Incentives [00:41:45]: In government, cutting wasteful programs can upset constituents or remove opportunities to “buy votes” by directing funds to donors and favored vendors [00:41:48]. This contrasts sharply with the private sector where saving money is rewarded [00:41:31].
- Dysfunctional Political System [00:45:04]: The political landscape has devolved into “warring political tribes” whose objective is to punish opponents and loot public coffers rather than focusing on the best policy [00:45:07].
Calls for Change
The discussion concludes with a call for greater transparency and accountability in government spending [00:46:41]. It’s suggested that the public needs to decide that such wasteful spending must stop to avoid bankrupting the country [00:42:18]. There’s a plea to celebrate individuals and organizations that save money and promote efficient solutions [00:42:24]. The podcast hosts propose using their platform to highlight instances of government waste, urging listeners to share information on such scandals [00:46:50].