How Scummy Insider Politics Saved California's Train To Nowhere
Allysia Finley writes in the WSJ about the California state legislature authorizing $4.7 billion in bonds last week to start construction on California's "high speed" train, godfathered by Dem Congressman Jim Costa. Costa wrote the legislation creating California's High-Speed Rail Authority, authored a $10 billion state bond initiative to fund it, and help plan the train's route.
Disgustingly, check out what amounts to a presidential earmark to Costa and another Democratic supporter of the president -- basically, crony socialism from The White House:
The rail authority promised voters that the train wouldn't require a subsidy and that the feds and private sector would pick up most of the $33 billion tab. Expecting a free ride, voters leapt on board and approved the initiative in November 2008. Not long afterward, the authority raised the price to $43 billion.Investors refused to plunk down money without a revenue guarantee--that is, a subsidy--from the state, which wasn't forthcoming. California's attorney general, whom we now call Gov. Jerry Brown, declined to investigate the bait-and-switch.
As soon as he took office, President Obama tried to help the state with $2.4 billion in stimulus money. A year and a half later--and two weeks before the 2010 midterm elections--the White House offered an additional $900 million, provided that the $3.3 billion sum be spent in the sparsely populated Central Valley. That is, in the congressional districts of Mr. Costa and fellow Blue Dog Democrat Dennis Cardoza, both of whom had provided critical votes for ObamaCare in March 2010 and were then in political peril.
The congressmen rode the subsidy train to re-election, flogging the 135,000 jobs that the construction would supposedly create in the Central Valley. To be sure, Mr. Costa denies trading his ObamaCare vote for high-speed rail money: "That's not something I do," he tells me. Besides, he says, the train "had already become unpopular by [the 2010 election]," so it couldn't have accounted for his victory.
...Next year taxpayers will have to start paying interest on the rail bonds--about $380 million annually for the next 30 years--assuming investors bite. That's nearly as much as the governor is proposing to cut from higher education if voters don't approve his millionaires' tax initiative in the fall.
This plundering of higher education should serve as a warning to voters who think that approving the millionaires' tax will somehow save them from one day becoming sacrificial lambs on the government's altar. Nothing is sacred.
WSJ commenter Richard Godfrey lays out the idiocy:
$380 million a year in interest? In virtually bankrupt California? Californians: Think of that $380 million as our police and fire departments are being decimated because there is no money; when libraries remain closed because there is no money; when public swimming pools stand dry in 100 degree heat because there is no money; when paramedics don't come to disasters because there is no money. There is a price to be paid for electing foolish politicians and Californians are paying it.
Over and over and over again, California voters are voting for fiscal state suicide. It's tragic and disgusting.
Third Calif. city in past month declares bankruptcy:
When California finally declares bankruptcy, I am going to attend the protest in D.C. to not do a damn thing about it.
The confederation of the several states is not a suicide pact.
Jim P. at July 14, 2012 7:03 AM
Um, you do realize that Pres Obama--or any president for that matter--has very little power by himself?
So speak about the current people in politics, absolutely, but you lose credibilty when you blame everything on Obama.
Cause that's not how it works.
deathbysnoosnoo at July 14, 2012 8:06 AM
Clearly the voters of California did not view this as fiscal state suicide. "Expecting a free ride," indeed. What they voted for was Free Shit from all the other states. Nobody seems to be able to pass that up.
Pirate Jo at July 14, 2012 8:24 AM
Thats odd, cause as I recall Obama himself got a shitload of credibility blaming everything on Bush.
Also still waiting on those photos that prove you are hot
lujlp at July 14, 2012 8:27 AM
Um, you do realize that Pres Obama--or any president for that matter--has very little power by himself?
Wait...you mean to say Teh Won didn't shoot Usama Bin Laden? see, that's the problem with being President: you get all the credit for the good things that happen on your watch, but you also take all the blame for the bad things that happen on your watch.
Meanwhile, California is teetering at the edge of an abyss. And when they come to Washington, hat in hand begging for a bailout, I'll be right there with Jim P telling them "not just no, but hell no". And Florida Governor Rick Scott is looking like a stinking genius in turning down rail money when it was offered.
I R A Darth Aggie at July 14, 2012 9:55 AM
Um, you do realize that Pres Obama--or any president for that matter--has very little power by himself?
Which is why there's no concern over the presidential election being "bought". After all, who cares, it's powerless?
So speak about the current people in politics, absolutely, but you lose credibilty when you blame everything on Obama.
Not when the candidate has promised things, and appears to have delivered.
Unix-Jedi at July 14, 2012 9:58 AM
And Florida Governor Rick Scott is looking like a stinking genius in turning down rail money when it was offered.
Only in some venues - and that's not a lot.
Trust me, most people are repeating the most vile nonsense about that.
My father is livid about that. Because something about once they ran the high-speed rail down to miami, it would make a metric asston of money.
My question: "Then why not build that one, first?"
(Who the hell is going to ride the train for 2 hours between Tampa and Orlando instead of driving an hour? - It might not be a population of zero, but it's a mighty damn low one. And there ain't nowhere near enough tourists who'd ride between the two.)
Unix-Jedi at July 14, 2012 10:01 AM
Obama will succeed in getting his way because he always describes his policies as giving out free stuff which the cold-hearted Republicans don't want to give. This is always very effective.
The US is in a supernova of spending. Obama has found nice loopholes. Not having a budget has no penalties, and even a congress controlled by Republicans will not stop his spending. Obama says: "Dare to cut off the spending, and all the blame will go onto you". Republicans are politicians like Obama, and they also want to spend, maybe not as much.
The party wins which gives out more free stuff. That is all Obama needs to do.
Obama is already blaming Republicans for hindering free spending. When further economic destruction becomes visible, Obama will say, "We could have revived the US economy, but selfish Republicans are owned by big business. They wouldn't agree to do any of the great things I wanted to do. They sacrificed your prosperity because they wouldn't tax their fat cat friends just a bit more for the good of the country."
Free Ice Cream Cones
"Politician: Which of you wonderful people would like a free ice cream cone?"
Andrew_M_Garland at July 14, 2012 2:38 PM
The budgetary demise of CA, and maybe later the US, will make Greece look like a quaint garden party.
Stinky the Clown at July 14, 2012 3:24 PM
"There is a price to be paid for electing foolish politicians..."
The politicians are not foolish, they're greedy crooks. They and their unethical, rich cronies are going to steal hundreds of millions of dollars. "High speed rail" is just pretext - the vehicle for transferring money from the taxpayers to themselves and their cohorts, with a little coercion from the state to help move it along. Kind of like Solyndra.
Ken R at July 14, 2012 4:05 PM
"Expecting a free ride, voters leapt on board and approved the initiative..."
Here are the fools, and the root of the problem. The majority of the voters are as morally corrupt as the politicians, totally liking the idea of the state taking money from other people and giving it to them. They think the politicians and millionaires are going to share the loot with them. They're too stupid to realize that they are the pigeons in the scam. They're being conned.
Ken R at July 14, 2012 4:09 PM
deathbysnoosnoo: "So speak about the current people in politics, absolutely, but you lose credibilty when you blame everything on Obama."
Oh, for sure! Obama couldn't make this happen all on his own. As Crid put it so nicely in comments about a sordid scandal of another type: "This happened because a set of particularly bad souls took command of an institution." Obama is just one of the set of bad souls colluding in this high speed rail scam.
Ken R at July 14, 2012 4:12 PM
This is EXACTLY the reflection of a state overburdened with illegals, criminals (and the myriad of resulting victims), liberals, corrupt unions/PACs, stoners and other "entitled" welfare recipients...vs. ACTUAL PRODUCTIVE RESIDENTS!
Illigitimate residents want to take AWAY from long time, productive residents BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ONES WHO PRODUCE, yet no one gets that YOU GO BANKRUPT when your ASSETS are offset by your LIABILITIES!!!
Some governor...He can't even balance the BASICS!!!
It's no secret that CA pays the highest welfare in the nation...it's about time they realize it is a MISTAKE to harbor detrimental residents who perpetuate even MORE DESTRUCTION to that state!!
sofia non-grata at July 25, 2012 2:18 AM
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