Our stupid governor
Don’t bother him with facts or figures.
In a scathing critique that could further jeopardize political support for California's proposed $98.5-billion bullet train, a key independent review panel is recommending that state officials postpone borrowing billions of dollars to start building the first section of track this year.
Gov. Jerry Brown has said he will ask the Legislature in the coming months to issue the first batch of $9 billion in voter-approved bonds for a high-speed rail network that backers say will create jobs, help the environment and transform the state's economy.
But in a report Tuesday, a panel of experts created by state law to help safeguard the public's interest raised serious doubts about almost every aspect of the project and concluded that the current plan "is not financially feasible." As a result, the panel said, it "cannot at this time recommend that the Legislature approve the appropriation of bond proceeds for this project."
The state budget’s in a huge hole and every day you hear about more cuts to schools and other services and yet we must spend $100 billion on a bullet train no one’s going to ride.
One comment on “Our stupid governor”
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I actually do like the concept, but now and no time in the forseeable future, is this a good idea. If we weren't so busy offering the most generous social programs in the U.S., and weren't so keen on NOT cutting maybe we could have done this already. But at this point the cost has almost tripled from original projections; ridership estimates have been substantially lowered, not a single private corporations has signed on as a sponsor to defry costs, and it's estimated that the government would end up essentially subsidizing $100 per each rider's ticket. Jerry is a looney toon if he thinks we can afford this.