Boondoggle Train

City Journal ^ | November 4, 2015 | By Chris Reed

[Brad from Tennessee]

In November 2008, California voters narrowly approved Proposition 1A, which provided $9.95 billion in government money for a statewide bullet-train network. The initiative passed, even though the California High-Speed Rail Authority had been legally required to release a detailed, updated business plan by October 1 of that year, so that voters would have time to learn exactly how the state planned to finance what was then billed as a $43 billion project—and no updated plan was in view. Rail officials failed even to release a preliminary report before the election, claiming that state legislators’ long delay in passing the fiscal 2008–09 budget made doing so impossible.

Within days of Prop. 1A’s passage, however, the High-Speed Rail Authority at last released the plan. Just as critics had predicted, the document insisted that private investment would be easy to come by. All investors needed, the plan said, was “financial and political commitments from state officials that government would share the risks to their participation.” In other words, if California promised that taxpayers would guarantee ridership and revenue, then investors would come flocking. The problem? Prop. 1A explicitly banned taxpayer subsidies for the bullet-train project. Had the business plan been released before the election, it would have undercut the “no-downside” narrative offered by the project’s political champions, including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senator Dianne Feinstein. . .

[Brad from Tennessee]

The gist is that there is no stampede by private investors to risk their money on this fiscal nightmare and it may not be too late to kill the project.

[Darteaus94025]

The plan is to have every illegal alien come north on the train with two 5 gallon containers of water from SoCal pools. These will be emptied into the reservoirs of NorCal.

If it makes a difference in the life of one child, it will all be worth it.

[Rockitz]

That sounds like good news except that the foxes are in full control of the henhouse in California so I’m guessing that provision about no public subsidies will fall quickly by the wayside.

[roadcat]

The plan is to have every illegal alien come north on the train with two 5 gallon containers of water from SoCal pools. These will be emptied into the reservoirs of NorCal.

Huh? The reason we're low on water in northern California is because the water is sucked to southern California. Read about the California Aqueduct. Water that flows to the San Joaquin/Sacramento River Delta is diverted to southern California to fill those swimming pools in L.A. If not for that, we wouldn't be rationing water up here in the north.

Contributions from illegal aliens is that they're pissing on us as they make their way north.

[Iron Munro]

The Mexican drug cartels will come to the rescue and turn this into a high speed freight train.

[goldstategop]

Willie Green Ping!

It will never be built.

I can’t think of one good reason why California needs this train.

Time to yank the plug on this exorbitant boondoggle.

[John O]

So I guess this would be a “Willie Green Memorial Happy Choo-Choo Thread”? :)

[eyeamok]

I still can’t figure out why the Democrat Governor and Legislature haven’t Required the various State Pension Funds to completely bankroll this project, the investment opportunity is so great, they should be jumping at the chance to invest THEIR OWN PENSIONS in this Train from Bakersfield to Fresno.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Brilliant! CA leading the nation, again, in progressive ideas!