[AlbertCory]

This seems to come up once a month or so on HN. Here is a non-ideological take, which I suppose means everyone will hate it because it doesn't echo their pet theory:

The US's basic problem with large building projects nowadays is federalism. There are so many different jurisdictions that opponents can always find some court or legislative body that they can exploit to slow down or stop the project.

Everything else flows from that.

Lawsuits? Too many courts.

Legislative opposition? Too many governmental units. Even if the public as a whole supports it, some jurisdictions will not.

Administrative permit hearings, which go on endlessly? Too many governmental units.

Yes, things used to work better in the US, but things change and all systems decay.

[xeromal]

Too many fingers in the pot. I like it