Seems like we were able to build them quickly enough that we prematurely built them.
Wasting tax payer money that could've been invested in things like increasing PPE production for existing hospitals.
The core of the issue is that we couldn't ramp up testing fast enough, leaving us completely blind and then we relied on models that believed the infection was moving far more aggressively than it was.
When you're dealing with exponential growth and high uncertainty, anything you do is likely to either look like a large underreaction or large overreaction in retrospect.
I think there was/is near-infinite money available for Covid-related projects, and spending was more limited by identifying them or bureaucracy or political will. I don't think we would have taken the $660mm and spent in on PPE without this hospital construction; instead, our national debt would just be that much lower.
Wasting tax payer money that could've been invested in things like increasing PPE production for existing hospitals.
The core of the issue is that we couldn't ramp up testing fast enough, leaving us completely blind and then we relied on models that believed the infection was moving far more aggressively than it was.