Why Government Infrastructure Costs More in the US Than Europe

Why does building a mile of subway track in the US cost five to ten times more than in comparable European countries? In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the specific structural factors behind America's infrastructure cost premium. They examine the 2019 Eno Center for Transportation study showing US transit projects cost $600 million per mile versus $100 million in Spain or France, then trace the causes: fragmented environmental review, local-content procurement rules, worker classification laws, and risk allocation in public contracts. The hosts use the California High-Speed Rail project — initially budgeted at $33 billion, now over $128 billion — as their central case. They discuss the trade-off between legal process fairness and cost efficiency, and ask whether the US could adopt European-style 'design-build' concessions without sacrificing accountability. No hot takes — just a concrete look at why America pays a premium for public works. #InfrastructureCost #PublicFinance #Economics #GovernmentSpending #CostOverrun #CaliforniaHighSpeedRail #EnoCenter #TransitProjects #Procurement #DesignBuild #EnvironmentalReview #DavisBacon #BuyAmerica #RiskAllocation #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #GovernmentSpendingWithFexingo #LucasAndLuna Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo