Wonkbook: Why Americans don't trust government -- by Larry Summers

Sponsored by Qualcomm | By Lawrence H. Summers A fiasco has emerged from what should have been a routine maintenance project on the Anderson Memorial Bridge over the Charles River next to my office in Cambridge. Though the bridge took only 11 months to build in 1912, it will take close to five years to repair today at a huge …   The latest economic and domestic policy from Wonkblog   Anderson Memorial Bridge courtesy Flickr user Scott Dexter under Creative Commons license By Lawrence H. Summers A fiasco has emerged from what should have been a routine maintenance project on the Anderson Memorial Bridge over the Charles River next to my office in Cambridge. Though the bridge took only 11 months to build in 1912, it will take close to five years to repair today at a huge cost in dollars and mass delays. Investigating the reasons behind the bridge blunders have helped to illuminate an aspect of American sclerosis — a gaggle of regulators and veto players, each with the power to block or to delay, and each with their own parochial concerns.  All the actors — the  historical commission, the contractor, the environmental agencies, the advocacy groups, the state transportation department — are reasonable in their own terms, but the final result is wildly unreasonable. At one level this explains why, despite the overwhelming case for infrastructure investment, there is so much resistance from those who think it will be carried out ineptly. The right response is to advocate for reforms in procurement policies, regulatory policies and government procedures to make the investment process more efficient and effective. This is all clear enough. At another level, though, our story may illustrate phenomena that go way beyond infrastructure. Read the rest on Wonkblog.   Chart of the day Federal courts are handing down fewer sentences for trafficking marijuana. Christopher Ingraham has more. Top policy tweets ". @ryangrim and @PaulBlu do a great job documenting how hedge funds buy DC expertise in indirect and dubious ways https://t.co/9dZs3ma5yb" -- @leedrutman "Kansas continues to lag its neighbors in economic activity, and to underperform vs. historical correlations https://t.co/iAOxtD1YUv" -- @JimPethokoukis "Smart @cflav piece on how to avoid carbon-pricing policies that are regressive. (It's not just refunding revenue!) https://t.co/fjuHtxN44K" -- @jeffspross ADVERTISEMENT   Most Recent Posts from Wonkblog The stark difference between millennial men and their dads Millennial guys are different from their dads By Danielle Paquette  •  Read more »   Federal​ marijuana smuggling is declining in the era of legal weed What happens in Colorado stays in Colorado. By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   This could be the reason America is becoming more violent Violence is up in American cities. This could be why. By John Roman  •  Read more »   Why Americans don’t trust government We seem to be caught in a dismal cycle of low expectations, poor results and shared cynicism. By Lawrence H. Summers  •  Read more »   How much a decent apartment costs you in every county Rental prices are out of reach for the typical renter in many parts of the country. By Emily Badger and Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   Hillary Clinton is pushing two of corporate America’s biggest ideas Why it's interesting that immigration and infrastructure top Hillary Clinton's economic agenda. By Jim Tankersley  •  Read more »   A GOP congressman says he used medical marijuana while in office It was "the first time in a year and a half that I had a decent night's sleep because the arthritis pain was gone." By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   Study: Fewer black civilians are killed by police in cities with more black officers Walter Scott's killing in North Charleston last year seems to fit the pattern. By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   The shocking number of Americans who can’t cover a $400 expense And that's actually an improvement. By Ylan Q. Mui  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   Federal Insider Federal news and policy update, in your inbox daily. Sign Up »         Share Wonkbook:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for a Wonkblog newsletter. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071