Why Don’t Blue States Build?

I want to recommend a post by Noah Smith, “Blue states don’t build. Red states do.” Here’s a sample:

Many things frustrate me about this debate. One is that most of the progressive critics of the abundance idea appear not to have actually read Klein and Thompson’s book; they lazily assume it’s all about deregulation, when in fact Klein and Thompson spend more time calling for building up state capacity and the power of the bureaucracy. Another frustrating thing is that the progressive critics seem to assume that their preferred ideas — such as antitrust — are alternatives to abundance, when in fact they usually don’t conflict, and sometimes complement each other.

But what frustrates me most is that by insisting on degrowth over abundance, progressives are hurting themselves much more than they’re hurting any billionaires, oligarchs, or conservatives. Most development policy is set at the city and state level, not at the federal level. Which means by embracing degrowth, progressives are only stifling development in blue states and progressive cities — places like California and Massachusetts. Meanwhile, red states like Texas just keep growing, because progressives can’t tell them what to do.

The question I’d like to ask is why don’t “blue states” build? The answer to which Mr. Smith points is excessive regulation but IMO that’s a symptom rather than the disease.

Another possibility is NIMBYism but, again, I think that’s a symptom rather than the disease. Even more aggravating is BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything).

I think that a great deal of the problem is that the process is the objective rather than the product.

Why has California been trying to build high speed rail for the last 40 years? The first version began in 1982; the reboot in 2008. Of the 171 miles in the “Initial Operating Segment” (IOS) none has been completed but 22 miles have been declared ready for track-laying. That’s since 2014. For perspective the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed in four years, Hoover Dam in five years, and the transcontinental railroad in six years.

The City of Ithaca’s ambitious plan to go entirely renewable has met with similar obstacles. Electrifying 6,000 buildings over five years was planned; to date 10 have been electrified and the project has more or less been abandoned.

My speculation is that establishing committees, doing planning, and spending money are the actual objectives while actually producing highspeed rail going green takes a backseat. The meetings and planning upset no one and produce little backlash; actually building anything will be controversial and produce political backlash.

Consider the state with which I’m most familiar. Here in Illinois the state’s objectives are rather obviously employing and paying wages to public employees, later paying their pensions. Teaching kids, enforcing the law, having safe neighborhoods, and maintaining the roads are far less important.