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Comment by piker | Hacker News Reader

My own [local government] is so stupid its own massive 7-figure park project got blocked by [local government] planning halfway through. For about a year instead of a park we’ve had two massive holes surrounded by fences. Too many taxes, too much nimbyism. This one really is that simple.

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This happens everywhere in enterprise and government because policies and processes are designed to avoid mistakes or embarassment at any cost (because those risks are internalised by the bureacracy and therefore "real") but do not account for the cost of not being able to get anything done, because those are externalised and everyone involved in the various committees and review processes gets paid regardless.

I wish there were better ways to align incentives here.

> I wish there were better ways to align incentives here.

I have a crazy idea that might work to hold organizations accountable if they never get anything done.

Oo! Oo! Is it a free and fair public election?

That mentality is exactly what leads to the problem. You want to hold everyone organization accountable for every perceived failing which leads them to optimize towards a state where they can justify existence but do as little as possible to minimize the potential for any perceived failing.

I was talking about market accountability. Companies that don’t get anything done fail.

The UK (and particularly England) is the among the most centralised countries in Europe. The overwhelming amount of local government funding comes from central government, with local taxation being a small fraction. This means there's very little incentive for local governments to approve development, because they don't see the financial benefits but do have to fund local services, and they're the ones that get blamed by NIMBYs.

There's a TV show called parks and recreation which has that exact premise.

When I was working for various local govs there was a usual remark being made. You cannot fire shitty employees. There are great ones, but some are just getting the pay check and make things worse and there is no way to fire them. It is just not practical.

I am not saying those are the main problem but it contributes to the lack of efficiency.

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