- Killing The Tunnel

I don't take mass transit to the city any more. Instead I usually drive. And since that's so, I would personally benefit from the increased car capacity under Hudson river. But if Paul Krugman, the Huffington Post, and Frank Lautenberg are all going crazy at the idea that Christie has canceled the tunnel project for being too expensive, then there is simply no way it can be a good idea to go through with it.

Road building in America is union dominated so it has a tendency to run WILDLY over budget. The Pennsylvania department of Transportation started building a bridge across the Delaware river in Easton Pennsylvania, and if I'm not mistaken they finally finished it two years ago. This is typical of highway jobs, which have long been a source of excess for union where eight men are paid to watch one man work. but none of that matters to liberals who can't remember the tragedy of the commons, but can remember that union members all vote as their told.

Christie was right to shelve the project. The uproar on the left should tell you that if nothing else does. It means they have promised their union handlers that they would make it happen, and now the gravy train has been put at risk.

Christie has agreed to take another look at the cost benefit numbers before scrubbing the project entirely. This is the kind evidence based analysis I would expect from him. There would be a benefit that comes from the tunnel and it might be worth it if the costs could be controlled as if it were a privatized project. Hopefully he'll get concessions from the unions that will penalize them if it runs over time or over budget, before re-authorizing it.