The Growing Costs of Bad Government, at Home and at Sea

It's a hell of a way to run a government on Waypoints this week. Join Rob, Patrick, and Natalie as they discuss a number of eye-opening investigative reports that have left them stunned lately. First, Patrick has been mesmerized by the saga of how local and state government in Wisconsin gave electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn one of the most lopsided deals in US history. It's a story told at the highest level by an article in Bloomberg Businessweek and at the ground level by a dramatic episode of Reply All that shows how a community tore itself apart for the distant promise of a factory. Next, Rob and Natalie have been reading ProPublica's haunting report on the USS Fitzgerald collision. How does one of the most advanced ships, with the best equipment, in one of the most prestigious fleets in the US Navy, end up falling victim to such a routine and preventable accident? There's no one clear answer, but a lot of contributing factors that add up to a portrait of a navy rotting away from the inside.

Useful Resources

• Details on the Amazon "HQ2" deal with New York that was recently derailed
• Scott Walker's history with labor
• A good thread on the culture of sleeplessness in the Navy
• Part 2 of the ProPublica report, covering the policies that led to the Fitzgerald and McCain disasters

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