STATE: California's Bullet Train to Nowhere

Governor Jerry Brown's foolish/ambitious plans to build the nation's first dedicated high-speed rail line is set for a vote by the Legislature this week to authorize $2.7 billion in voter-approved bonds for construction of the first 130 mile stretch, to be built in the middle of the California desert.

BACKGROUND 1: In 2008, California voters approved $9,000,000,000 in bonds for the first round of financing for the LA to San Francisco Bullet train. The bullet train is estimated to end up costing a total of $68,000,000,000 to construct [although I recently read that the estimate had ballooned to $177,000,000,000, but for political purposes, it was whittled back down to the $68,000,000,000 instead], but if you believe that number will not grow before it is finished, you haven't been paying attention. The first phase of the train is planned to travel from Madera to Bakersfield. In other words, the easy part will get built first. If this section is all that ever ends up getting built, we're looking at our bridge to nowhere. If you've been to Madera and Bakersfield, and seen all that lies in between, you don't need to ponder whether that is true or not.

LET'S KEEP THIS SIMPLE: If it ever does get started and completed, it'll end up costing way more than $68,000,000,000. Then, it'll run at a massive deficit each year, thus burdening the taxpayers even further. Amtrack runs at a deficit every year, and it runs on rails that have already been built. Checkout Five More Reasons Not to Build California's Bullet Train to Nowhere.

SO WHY IS CALIFORNIA PURSUING THIS? Good question. First, we're going to get a ton of federal dollars to build it, and that will push up hiring and jobs, though at a very steep price per job. First, Japan built their high speed rails, followed decades later by China. So if they can do it, why can't we? Answer: In California, we drive cars or fly - we don't take trains, even if they are fast. I don't see that changing.

ALTERNATIVES: Some California democrats have suggested the money go towards improving existsing rail infrastructure, and I could certainly get on board with that long before I would approve of this Bullet Rail project. How about putting the money towards closing the annual state deficit instead, by just not spending taxpayer dollars on this loser?