Seattle's 8-Charger Nightmare: A Case Study in American Inefficiency

A simple project to install eight electric vehicle charging stations in Seattle, initially slated for completion in March 2023, remains unfinished in July 2025. This article uses the project as a microcosm of American governmental inefficiency, highlighting bureaucratic red tape, vendor changes, and multiple redesigns as the culprits behind the delays. The author argues this inefficiency plagues both large-scale and small-scale infrastructure projects, hindering progress on climate change, housing, and economic growth. The inability to execute even such a basic undertaking points to a deeper systemic problem.