Science

I don't know if this short-sighted cost/benefit analysis is something recent. I think not.

In my current neck of the woods, the locals decided to build a dam up in the hills above the villages. They didn't really know what they were doing but there was an active little river running between two pretty steep mountain-sides. So, in the mindset back in the mid 1800s, they put in a nice packed earth dam and it supplied a steady supply of water to the mills downstream. Until one day the dam was overrun and 100s of people and towns and mills were lost.

Added to your costs are also the lost opportunities. Investing heavily in one approach usually means ignoring other alternatives.

Thanks.