What cost ninety million dollars per mile to build but is useless? The answer is the high speed rail line in California's Central Valley. It's the one part of the Los Angeles to San Francisco line that the state has actually gotten under construction since voters approved the line and bonds to finance it ten (that's right TEN) years ago. The new governor of California, Gavin Newsome, has abandoned building the rest of the line for now because, in his words, "it was taking too long." Newsome, however, kept this portion of the line under construction even though the need for high speed rail in the Fresno area and through the farms of the Central Valley is not exactly a pressing need for the state or its people.
Yesterday, the Trump administration said that it would seek to cancel about a billion dollar grant that had been set aside to help fund the train line and also to recoup $2.5 billion in federal funds previously given to California for the train. You may recall how president Obama promoted high speed rail as an environmental panacea and driver of economic development. The other states offered funds decided against building such rail lines. But back to California and the federal funds. Under the grant of the federal funds, the feds have the right to cancel the money and get back what has already been paid should California fail to meet its obligations under the terms of the grant. It's open and shut that California failed. Nevertheless, the state government is screaming that this is just retribution because California has filed suit against the administration in which it seeks to overturn the President's declaration of a national emergency at the border. It should surprise no one that the response from the left wing Democrats who control California is that when the state fails to meet its obligations regarding the train line and even publically announces cessation of construction so that federal funds must be returned, the state would take the position that asking for the money back is just a response to the 'brave" move by the state to fight the President's "racist" emergency declaration. In California and elsewhere, Democrats cast everything the President does as "racism" or the equivalent. As has often been said since president Obama first got elected and the Democrats started on their non-stop accusations of racism, "when everything is racist, nothing is racist." It's a disgrace that the state of California can't even have an honest discussion about the total failure of its high speed rail line.
One last note: remember that the Green New Deal sees high speed rail as a substitute for all air travel in ten years. California couldn't build a line from LA to SF in ten years, but the Green New Dealers are going to build the equivalent of 300 such lines in the next ten. If there's no cost increase per mile from what California has budgeted, the total cost will be eighteen trillion dollars. (And we all know there would be huge cost overruns.)
Yesterday, the Trump administration said that it would seek to cancel about a billion dollar grant that had been set aside to help fund the train line and also to recoup $2.5 billion in federal funds previously given to California for the train. You may recall how president Obama promoted high speed rail as an environmental panacea and driver of economic development. The other states offered funds decided against building such rail lines. But back to California and the federal funds. Under the grant of the federal funds, the feds have the right to cancel the money and get back what has already been paid should California fail to meet its obligations under the terms of the grant. It's open and shut that California failed. Nevertheless, the state government is screaming that this is just retribution because California has filed suit against the administration in which it seeks to overturn the President's declaration of a national emergency at the border. It should surprise no one that the response from the left wing Democrats who control California is that when the state fails to meet its obligations regarding the train line and even publically announces cessation of construction so that federal funds must be returned, the state would take the position that asking for the money back is just a response to the 'brave" move by the state to fight the President's "racist" emergency declaration. In California and elsewhere, Democrats cast everything the President does as "racism" or the equivalent. As has often been said since president Obama first got elected and the Democrats started on their non-stop accusations of racism, "when everything is racist, nothing is racist." It's a disgrace that the state of California can't even have an honest discussion about the total failure of its high speed rail line.
One last note: remember that the Green New Deal sees high speed rail as a substitute for all air travel in ten years. California couldn't build a line from LA to SF in ten years, but the Green New Dealers are going to build the equivalent of 300 such lines in the next ten. If there's no cost increase per mile from what California has budgeted, the total cost will be eighteen trillion dollars. (And we all know there would be huge cost overruns.)
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