"...We wasted more by mistake than others produced on purpose."
Having the
luxury of Option 1, Option 2 .... etc. isn't waste, IMO,

, it's good fortune, wealth, foresight, good planning ...... and
timing.
This particular thread is fascinating because it covers a swatch of history (1924 - 1945 approx.) and you can see similar patterns of behavior occurring that on the surface might be disconnected - but we know now of course that events were being swept by a current/currents.
USA and FDR weathered the great depression and emerged 're-built' (Tennessee Valley Authority, Hoover Dam, Rural Electrification Act, etc.). This while the country was hugely isolationist. If Pearl Harbor had occurred on June 7, 1939 instead of December 7, 1941, FDR and America would not been able to '
waste' anything, would have had far fewer options, and would have suffered greater losses all around, IMO.
MM