High Speed Rail Boondoggle Approved
They actually did it. The Democrats approved funding for the initial laying of line for the high speed rail line in the Central Valley. If nothing else, this leaves no question that the Democrats hold the lion's share of the blame for the fiscal wreck this state is in, and the even worse that's yet to come.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 4:40 PM
16 comments
16 Comments:
LOL. Approving a future project indicates nothing about how the state got into a preexisting financial situation. This began with the dot-com bust, helped along by the energy companies gaming the system under Davis, and then good ol' Arnold thinking he could go independent and not work with anyone on either side of the aisle. Plus bond measures, of course.
Trying to pin this on Democrats is the height of ignorance.
Oh, also, there's the small issue of the entire country being in the tank due to Bush beating the drum for two wars. But by all means, blame California Democrats! LOL!
Gosh Fred, you should get out of Humboldt County and ride yourself some HSR.
It's a damned wonderful way to travel. No "two hours early" in order to get your privates fondled/zapped. No getting crammed into a space fit only for a ten year old.
You zip along in comfort, not strapped in to avoid doing the high hurdle when your craft hits some turbulence.
You can look out the window and see something other than sky and clouds.
You board and depart "downtown" rather than out in the boonies.
And the thing runs on nice clean electricity. Not Saudi/Canadian oil.
You'd rather spend your money on more freeway lanes and making our airports larger? You want to face the ever rising price of oil?
If the train were around today I'd take it on weekend trips from my home in the Bay Area to LA & Santa Barbara. Toasts to Fred this fine Friday night!
Humboldt County is home of the invention of the Solar Rail concept way back in 1976. That idea was to build a monorail system where the monorail itself, above ground and impervious to slides and not hitting animals, has solar panels embedded in so that sunlight is hitting the system everyday somewhere charging storage batteries so the whole thing is free electrically run and clean. I'd say demand this system for the new high speed rail line and then for our Humboldt rail system tie in.
This began with the dot-com bust,... Plus bond measures, of course. Trying to pin this on Democrats is the height of ignorance.
Until now you could say there was plenty of blame to go around. Not anymore. The HSR funding was pushed through completely by Democrats- a huge black hole that's going to be subsidized by taxpayers forever...unless we can stop it in court.
Stephen wrote, "I'd say demand this system for the new high speed rail line and then for our Humboldt rail system tie in..
First, demands won't be heard, Stephen. Even people who originally supported the HSR initiative have been wanting it put back for a vote, but the Democrats caved to the unions.
Second, the state doesn't have the money to fund HSR or any other rail line.
You'd rather spend your money on more freeway lanes and making our airports larger?
It isn't a matter of either/or. We'll have all three. Roads and airplanes are here to stay. This is just one more expense in addition to the others. And this expense won't come anywhere near paying for itself.
Fred, China and the Chinese capitalists are quite eager to invest in American superstructure and they have lot's of money to do so. There's money out there, it just a matter of getting it directed to good causes and it can be done without taxpayers paying a cent for loans. I know this because we saw it happen with our Heartlands Project outreach to Chinese investors. Politicians do not the best business people make. Like you, they get stuck in old paradigms and can't see a way out but where there's a will, there's a way, e.g. the local Railroad efforts won't go away despite all efforts by Progs like Judy Hodgson to deny historical reality. Railways are the most efficient form of transporting goods and that's why they will always be needed by the economically concerned as well as the environmentally concerned.
The Chinese don't seem to be interested in California's project, Stephen. Nor do any other private investors. Might there be a reason?
Yes, we'll likely end up with highways, airports and HSR.
Thing is, does it make more sense to widen I5 to 6 or8 lanes or shift some of that travel to high speed rail?
Does it make more sense to double our airport size or make the trip on HSR?
Remember, HSR runs on electricity that we can make in California while airplanes are likely to be flying on Saudi/Canadian oil and we'll be shipping our money across the boarder.
You're assuming people will chose HSR over airplane or car which is highly unlikely, especially when projected ticket prices for rail will be higher than flying.
What do you do, Fred, make up "facts" to support your arguments?
You are quite wrong about Chinese interest in California HSR.
"April 12, 2010 from KQED
The Chinese rail ministry is in talks with the state government in California to both build and finance a link between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The high-speed rail project needs private financing of up to $12 billion. California is talking to other countries that have high speed rail as well."
That's the Chinese government, Stephen, not Chinese businesses.
Fred, you're grasping at straws now, you know. Use common sense and realize that nation to nation trade always begins with government to government negotiations. And for that matter, the relationship between foreign business and Chinese government is actually much closer than most nations.
We elected them.
This is an interesting issue I've been watching. There's been quite a few articles about it.
Here's one today from the LA Times, "High-Speed Rail Officials Rebuffed Proposal from French Railway."
"The French railway recommended that the state build the rail line along the Interstate 5 corridor and partner with it or another foreign firm to hold down costs..."
The French (granted, they have their own problems but they also have a bullet train, too) believe the costs can be halved with proper planning and experts, route engineering, and business partnerships, rather than the State going it alone with their staff.
Here's the article, just some food for thought:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rail-advice-20120709,0,4539140.story
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