I was really struck by the idea of "veto points" -- basically, how many different groups can derail a project. There seems to be a sweet spot where you have enough checks and balances that good projects get done while bad projects get blocked, but some parts of American governance (obviously including California) have so many layers of checks and balances that very few projects can make it through the gauntlet.<p>It's one thing to have to get by the budget committee, the whole Senate, and the governor. It's quite another thing to get by all of that, plus the EPA, the voting public, unions, TV/newspaper/blog pundits, half a dozen special interest groups that have conflicting requirements, and lawyers representing all of them.