Analytic

A chain of independent approvals is a redundancy for "no", and it multiplies. If a sound project must clear N gates and each independently stops or stalls it with probability p, it clears all of them with probability (1-p)^N: with N = 60 (the federal permitting programs Ruhl and Salzman count, as Klein and Thompson relay) and p = 2%, 0.98^60 ≈ 0.30; at p = 5%, ≈ 0.05. The structure that makes a launch decision safe (every key must agree to fire) makes building fail by default, because there the costly error is the false yes and here it is the false no. Which way a veto chain should point depends on which error is irreversible. N is sourced; p and independence are illustrative, not measured.

Keeping power in check