The system optimized for these people.

So you get some guy approving some megacorps project because "well it says here that they've tested the stuff and the liquid mercury is below the <cites EPA mumbo jumbo" and giving farmer Johnson the runaround on some land clearing because farmer Johnson's project isn't worth spending $30k on civil engineering to have someone use "the right words" to say "I'm not gonna muddy up the river" and while the guy in the office knows what farmer Johnson means, he can't approve the project without sticking his neck out and so he doesn't.

It must be nice to live in a desert state where every 3rd parcel isn't "within regulatory range" of "wetlands" (most people don't know how expansive that word is).

trust me, this happens even in dense, deep blue places like Seattle and LA.