The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
How Two Rail Projects Show Bipartisan Infrastructure Failure
English Summary
The article argues that both political parties are prone to wasteful spending on infrastructure due to a tendency to support local or private projects without establishing a clear federal policy nexus. Evidence cited includes California's high-speed rail, which faces massive cost overruns and delays despite lacking national relevance, and Florida’s Brightline line, receiving federal grants despite significant default risk, constituting 'corporate welfare.' The analysis concludes that Congress must reform funding standards by requiring stronger federal justification for state projects, imposing mandatory cost-sharing requirements on local governments, and eliminating public subsidies for private infrastructure.
中文摘要
本文論述兩黨皆傾向於因缺乏明確的聯邦政策連結，而對基礎設施進行浪費性支出。所引證據包括加州的高速鐵路項目——該項目儘管缺乏國家層面的必要性，卻面臨巨大的成本超支和延誤；以及佛羅里達州的Brightline線路——該路線儘管存在顯著的違約風險，仍獲得聯邦撥款，構成「企業福利」。分析結論指出，國會必須改革資金標準，要求州級項目具備更強的聯邦合理性證明，對地方政府實施強制性的成本分攤機制，並取消私人基礎設施的公共補貼。
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