"Americans have gotten used to the idea that our government is helpless to get anything done. Our public schools are lackluster, our infrastructure is crumbling, and defense procurement is mired in red tape. But our government has solved bigger problems in the past-and even, on rare occasions, in recent years: In 2023, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro fixed a fallen section of I-95 in 12 days. Operation Warp Speed developed COVID-19 vaccines in less than nine months."
"Nothing gets done sensibly, however, merely by following rules. Hopkins achieved so much in a short time frame because he had the power to green-light projects, and he empowered officials below him to use their judgment in turn. Approval and procurement processes, such as they were, were ignored. When I-95 collapsed, Shapiro waived review processes and let his transportation secretary and a trusted contractor decide what to do."
In November 1933, the Civil Works Administration was created to give jobs to the unemployed, with Harry Hopkins empowered to approve projects rapidly. Within months the program laid 12 million feet of sewage pipe, paved 255,000 miles of road, and hired more than 4 million Americans. Recent examples of decisive action include Governor Josh Shapiro repairing a collapsed section of I-95 in 12 days and Operation Warp Speed developing COVID-19 vaccines in under nine months. Rapid public-works success depended on authority to green-light projects and trusted officials making judgment calls, often bypassing slow approval and procurement processes. Modern infrastructure modernization requires trade-off judgments that legal processes alone cannot resolve.
Read at The Atlantic
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