The Cost of “Perfection”

Where the U.S. government and some state governments are concerned, too many things take too long and cost too much.

Court proceedings, both civil and criminal, take too long, with the practical results that those with financial resources are far more likely to escape the consequences of their actions and those without such resources will spend more time behind bars, either by accepting disadvantageous plea bargains or awaiting trial, while prisons become more and more crowded.

Dealing with the legal and regulatory actions for construction or federal contracts often consumes more time than it actually takes to build something, partly because Americans argue too much, partly because the courts are understaffed, and partly because too often the regulations and the laws are used as tools of obstruction.

The immigration process is so clogged up and procedure-hampered that we’re not effectively dealing with illegal immigrants while turning away highly trained and talented immigrants.

Military procurement takes longer and longer and costs more and more.

Almost everywhere you look in the United States, things are bogged down and not working as well as they should. People know this, and they’re angry – which is why so many voted for Trump.

The problem is that the methods Trump and Musk are using won’t work, because they don’t address the heart of the problem.

We’re in this pickle because no government can regulate everything to be perfectly safe… or perfectly fair… or perfectly equal. When you try that, you get California, where it can take years to get permission to install solar power, where you can’t build enough homes because it’s too costly and too many are homeless.

There’s no effective and perfect way to IMMEDIATIATELY reduce global warming without destroying current societies and cultures, but replacing coal-burning power plants with natural gas would reduce emissions and pollution and make great steps, even though it’s not ideal. So would building more nuclear plants in the right locales.

It’s been said more than once that seeking perfection is the enemy of accomplishment, and that’s too often true because perfection is exceedingly expensive and often unobtainable, and those who seek perfection too often oppose anything less.

In short, we need a compromise which results in more good, and less insistence on perfection.

2 thoughts on “The Cost of “Perfection””

  1. KevinJ says:

    You know, I’ve thought a lot about how life was, basically, cheap a century or two ago. The death toll for sailors in the era of wooden ships, childhood mortality…people knew their odds of making it to old age weren’t great.

    Then came vaccines and everything else, and now Americans want life to be the opposite. No risks, no pain, no premature deaths.

    I applaud the goal, but since it’s impossible to reach it, maybe we need to shift that goal’s posts to something attainable.

    I mean, it beats the heck out of electing more buffoons with bozo ideas.

  2. Wine Guy says:

    So many people concentrate on being the best or first or the highest or the “-est.”

    When I was a young USN officer, my CPO took me aside after a particularly challenging day and said, “Sir, we have to get the job done. We aim for success. Perfection… we leave that for God.”

    HMC’s wisdom has withstood the test of time.

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