CA High Speed Rail= Bankruptcy
I agree with this San Diego Union- Tribune editorial on the high speed rail proposal. The sad, but predictable thing is, there's a number of people in this state that think we should try and get the money for high speed rail the other states have refused so we can keep working on our boondoggle.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:45 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
When this was on the ballot I thought it a boondoggle too. One that would probably cost 4 times what they estimated and one unfortunately that we can't afford. One thing about californian's...we have no clue about reality and money. We want everything and will pass anything on the ballot that makes us feel good with no thought about if we can afford it. Its why we are f'ing broke.
One man's boondoggle is another man's embracing the future. We'll get there with or without you Fred.
How many times over could we have paid for the CA High Speed Rail if we choose not to go to war with Iraq & Afghanistan?
How many times over could we have paid for the CA High Speed Rail if we choose not to go to war with Iraq & Afghanistan?.
True, but high speed rail would still be a money loser, not a money maker.
Fred: There you go again, pointing out reality. 9:20 and 10:12 don't care if it is efficient or cost effective. The taxpayers who don't use it can just subsidize it. Apply for a fed grant and they can just print the money. Or just borrow until we are bankrupt and become a third world state.
I know. That seems to be how the vast majority of high speed rail supporters see it.
Its not about making money, its about diversifying transportation and getting this state ready for gas prices consistently over $5/ gallon.
If Fred had his way back during the great depression, there would be no Golden Gate Bridge, no aquaduct system, no WPA projects anywhere.
Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, and this high speed rail system will only catch us up to where most of the rest of the developed world is already at. Yes, the state is bankrupt. That should be taken seriously. But not too the point where we're not investing is basic infrastructure.
12:18. You can't answer the simple question of where is the money to pay for the boondoggle? Where? How much money is in the account you want to pay for this with? Who is going to lend it to bankrupt CA? How are we the people going to pay the loan. We are bankrupt. Looking to cut about every program out there because of "your" type of thinking which has no grasp on accountability or fiscal reality.
The deficit is approximately 1.4% of the entire state's GDP in one year. The high estimates on the rail system put the cost at about 6.8% of GDP for one year. Of course, the rail system will be built over 20-30 years, and the deficit will take a good 3-4 budget cycles to finally end. I don't know if you've looked around recently, but the wealthy have done very well during this crisis. The State can afford to get out of this crisis and build the rail system at the same time. Its the unfair tax structure that is the problem.
First off, we are not as bankrupt as Texas. Second, we will get money from the states that are run by the Fred's of the world and are turning it down.
Transportation has seldom been a profitable business on its own. Amtrak, the airlines and auto manufacturers all get bailed out from time to time. The money comes from commerce. When people can move around and conduct business in a fast modern way, the GDP goes up. The freeways were subsidized, the transcontinental rail road was backed by tax dollars and space travel likewise. Once they took off the private sector made a lot of money using them. Space is still yet turn a profit unless you count LCD technology and other breakthroughs. The problem has become that the businesses that stand to do well from these infrastructure projects no longer pay any taxes. That is what has to change. GE, Exxon Mobile and a host of other big businesses reap the benefits of this but don't want to share in the cost. Fix the tax code, modernize, or become a third world country.
The money comes from commerce..
It's highly unlikely, imo, that California will ever have enough commerce to fund high speed rail. It can barely fund freeways now, and the economy will likely only get worse as the state is still being run by the same folks that ran it into the ground in the first place.
Fred. They are too indoctrinated. Its hopeless. Just like this state's economy. I have actually been looking at Oregon, Washington and Idaho because this kind of stick your head in the sand mindset. Its gonna result in a god awful mess of a state.
Hey Mr. Seaborn. Yes I would like those to pay their taxes. GE is tops on my list so are the dope growers in this county who don't pay a dime on their profits. The liberal mentality is that taxes are only for small businesses to pay.
Sincerely,
A once liberal, now independent and damn proud of it.
Post a Comment
<< Home