FUD Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So is Bob2 willing to go to bat with Congress and
> perhaps lead a study by NAS on the subject?
>
> That NYMAG story makes good points: "policy
> research" is seldom adequately funded with enough
> technical expertise available (which might cost
> real money) to come up with reliable information
> on questions like "why does it cost so much to
> build (x) here?" Worth reading. So how would we
> put together and get approved/funded a study that
> would adequately do the job? I'm guessing that the
> usual think tanks wouldn't be able to credibly
> handle it. It needs real engineers and real
> accountants (and auditors - remember, auditors
> figure out the recipe) to figure out what
> everybody's doing (the recipe) and why (the
> footnotes), and put it into some common framework.
> Not somebody with a preconceived answer looking
> for free advice leading to that answer.
>
> Maybe NAS wouldn't be the best one to do it. Maybe
> somebody at DOT should be the lead. But based on
> my experience with both I'd be more inclined to
> accept NAS as being relatively unbiased since it's
> officially (we all know better if we've been
> involved in their studies when Fed agencies are on
> the panel) less political.
>
> Of course, the chance of anything like that
> happening probably falls into the "when pigs fly"
> category.

My ex-wife took a plane from SF to LA, so that's proof that pigs fly.