China has lots of advantages over us in building large projects
They make the decision to do it and go. No years or decades of
analysis paralysis.
Concerns of locally affected parties are not an issue. The central
government has the power and they don't care what the locals
think.
No decade or more of environmental reviews.
Land acquisition is simple. They just take it and "relocate"
(dump) the previous inhabitants somewhere else. No expensive
and drawn out eminent domain court battles.
Tom Friedman is right in that the Chinese have a lot of
advantages over us. But then again, we're not that kind of
country either, nor do I think we want to be.
Oh, and dAVErSF, yes, other forms of travel are subsidized as
well. But NONE of them is subsidized to the degree that Amtrak
is, to the tune of $30 to $400 per passenger per trip!
