The California's bullet train project is getting an inspector general

Hotair ^ | 07/07/2022 | John Sexton

[dsrtsage]

When they are done with that, perhaps they can start a project to ensure everybody has typewriters and dial up modems

[mountainlion]

Fox guarding the henhouse.

[Thommas]

Gov. Gavin Newsom, after an exhaustive search for the perfect California Inspector General, unbiased and
incorruptible, has announced that former Speaker of the California Legislature Willie Brown will assume the role of
Bullet Train Inspector General.

[catnipman]

as with ALL mass transit, how do you conveniently get about once you’re “there”?

[SeekAndFind]

How do the Japanese and Chinese do it?

[Oscar in Batangas]

Hoo Boy! Another layer of overhead.

[texas booster]

Willie Brown will assume the role of Bullet Train Inspector General.

Yeah, that Willie is an expert on putting small things into big holes, extending funding and making sure that ALL of his friends get a share.

Sadly, it could probably be worse that selecting wee Willie.

[bigbob]

Instead he will take his cut and conclude that the project is underfunded. And needs to hire more queers.

[A Navy Vet]

"The Big Dig went west."

Perfect analogy. I wonder if anyone here has a list of public project boondoggles over the years?

[cymbeline]

“But even if California figures out how to complete high-speed rail ...”

Do they plan for the line between SF and LA to turn a profit?

I just don’t see enough utilization to pay for it. The 100 billion could be used to build ten new airports in the SF and LA areas. I’d rather fly for 30 minutes than ride the train for several hours.

[Billthedrill]

“The idea that you would spend all your money on a train that doesn’t connect to anything and just hope that you’re going to get more money, I find a really frightening business proposition,” said Friedman.

It sounds ridiculous but it seems to have worked very well so far. There isn't much a little systemic corruption can't accomplish.

[hanamizu]

I think that if the line ever gets built, California will try to regulate or tax intrastate flights out of existence.

[woodbutcher1963]

The Big Dig was proposed by Tip O’Neil(D-MA) when he was the Speaker. Reagan vetoed it because he thought the $2.4 Billion was too much. The Dem controlled house had the votes to override Reagan’s veto. It ended up costing around $12 Billion by the time it was done.

I have to admit though once it was done it made going through downtown Boston and getting out to Logan airport a heck of a lot easier. Keep in mind they built a whole new tunnel to Logan and buried the connection of I90 to I95 right under a city that was almost 400 years old and surrounded by water on three sides.

[Bernard]

Your proposal would make this project the railroad equivalent of the magic COVID vaccine. Does that California will require everybody to use the railroad?

[cgbg]

Massachusetts may be totally corrupt—but at the end of the day they can actually get big projects done.

CA is hopeless.

[cgbg]

The Chinese approach is simple—no affirmative action and if corrupt officials are caught they are executed.

[KarlInOhio]

How much is corruption vs. incompetence vs. forced underestimates on the initial plans? I've been on too many projects where the engineers make estimates based on their experience only to have three or more levels of management each cut 10-20% of the cost plus add features to get the contract. When we get the final contract we immediately say "Impossible. The original plan was optimistic. The new schedule is insane."

[PLMerite]

“...and if corrupt officials are caught they are executed.”

More like, “if corrupt officials don’t kick enough up the chain...”

[Signalman]

CA must have a lot of sinkholes because a lot of money is going into them...taxpayer money.

[cgbg]

Incompetence is a factor for sure—that can usually explain no more than the first doubling of costs.

Anything after that requires an additional explanation.

I have told my story often (after the statute of limitations expired :-) )—many decades ago I personally bribed MA politicians to get special favors for my business. They were “honest crooks”, though—after they took the money they did as they were told—the bureaucratic quagmire disappeared like magic.