I don’t think that’s a fair assessment, everything people have built up to now relies on a significantly greater amount of complexity. There is a lot which works well and is held together by hardworking, unsung normal everyday folks, but you don’t make the national news for getting shit done or keeping stuff functional.

That said, yeah the bean counters have fucking ruined engineering firms, and it’s a story which repeats itself over and over. There’s also the issue of nepo babies or “I know this person” incest in a lot of places where qualified people are passed over for someone “you know”. The nepotism and cronyism phenomenon is a huge problem for many institutions, not just engineering firms. Nepotism and cronyism is not just an American issue, it’s something you see everywhere.

Regarding unqualified people, I do think maybe standards should be raised for entry into some college programs. But the only way raising standards would make sense if we significantly invest in public education. In short, a lot of “breaking” of America is the direct result of short sighted Republican policies.