California Leg. OKs funding for high-speed rail line

[MeBelle]

An example of a Wry post 'with anything of substance'.

Well, if I had a triple digit IQ, and I think I do, I'd wonder why someone would want to use money so unproductively, when it could be used more effectively on something else....like reduced tax burden on the producers.

Or a war of choice, invading Iraq, Granada, Panama, etc. How about the war on drugs - how did Just say No work?

IMO it's all about priorities.

California declared war? On who?

 

[Full-Auto]

California has plenty of money, with such special interest politicians looking out for the cronies.

 

[RoadVirus]

Another taxpayer boondoggle.

California High Speed Rail Project to Cost U.S. Taxpayers $42 Billion, GAO Says

(CNSNews.com) -- The California High-Speed Rail project is supposed to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles and be completed in 2028 at a cost of $65 billion, but only $11.5 billion in funds have already been secured for the project from state, local and private investment.

That means U.S. taxpayers will be called on to make up 61 percent of the estimated $57 billion that the project currently lacks in funding – or $42 billion -- according to congressional testimony from the Government Accountability Office (GAO.)

California High Speed Rail Project to Cost U.S. Taxpayers $42 Billion, GAO Says | CNS News

 

[Meister]

Another taxpayer boondoggle.

California High Speed Rail Project to Cost U.S. Taxpayers $42 Billion, GAO Says

(CNSNews.com) -- The California High-Speed Rail project is supposed to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles and be completed in 2028 at a cost of $65 billion, but only $11.5 billion in funds have already been secured for the project from state, local and private investment.

That means U.S. taxpayers will be called on to make up 61 percent of the estimated $57 billion that the project currently lacks in funding – or $42 billion -- according to congressional testimony from the Government Accountability Office (GAO.)

California High Speed Rail Project to Cost U.S. Taxpayers $42 Billion, GAO Says | CNS News

That's okay, everybody knows we're flush with money.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Well, if I had a triple digit IQ, and I think I do, I'd wonder why someone would want to use money so unproductively, when it could be used more effectively on something else....like reduced tax burden on the producers.

Or a war of choice, invading Iraq, Granada, Panama, etc. How about the war on drugs - how did Just say No work?

IMO it's all about priorities.

California declared war? On who?

The taxpayers.

 

[Katzndogz]

Well, if I had a triple digit IQ, and I think I do, I'd wonder why someone would want to use money so unproductively, when it could be used more effectively on something else....like reduced tax burden on the producers.

Or a war of choice, invading Iraq, Granada, Panama, etc. How about the war on drugs - how did Just say No work?

IMO it's all about priorities.

California declared war? On who?

On Californians. That's why so many leave. Illegals are happy to take their place, but they don't contribute enough money to fund the goodies.

 

[boedicca]

Another taxpayer boondoggle.

California High Speed Rail Project to Cost U.S. Taxpayers $42 Billion, GAO Says

(CNSNews.com) -- The California High-Speed Rail project is supposed to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles and be completed in 2028 at a cost of $65 billion, but only $11.5 billion in funds have already been secured for the project from state, local and private investment.

That means U.S. taxpayers will be called on to make up 61 percent of the estimated $57 billion that the project currently lacks in funding – or $42 billion -- according to congressional testimony from the Government Accountability Office (GAO.)

California High Speed Rail Project to Cost U.S. Taxpayers $42 Billion, GAO Says | CNS News

That's okay, everybody knows we're flush with money.

And if we run out, the feds will just print more and send it our way.

w00t!

 

[bayoubill]

The move marked a major political victory for Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and the Obama administration. Both have promoted bullet trains as job generators and clean transportation alternatives.

yep... job generators and clean transportation alternatives...

'course, twenty years from now, long after Brown and Obama are out of the picture,

we'll be hearing about how government subsidies total supmin' like $1000+ per $100-fare-paying rider...

 

[Wry Catcher]

These ******* imbeciles. they have saddled us with a money giant suck, that will make the Big Dig look like 2 toddlers in a sandbox, initial segment my ass, once it starts, its on.... they will whine that they cannot stop and 'waste all the money we have spent already', we have seen this shit before.

Just wait, as surely as night follows day...... ridership will be flat, subsidies will follow, then theres the inevitable unionized labor to run this boondoggle, everyone will, IF it is done in 2033....2033 hello, stand around arguing over the money drain, wondering why California has its very own Amtrak charity....

The ballot that we ( not me ) approved 3 years ago had a price tag of $34 Billion , that is now estimated at wait for it..............$98 Billion ( the article below has the wrong cost btw). I'm beside myself.


California OKs funding for high-speed rail line

By JUDY LIN
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California lawmakers approved billions of dollars Friday in construction financing for the initial segment of the nation's first dedicated high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The move marked a major political victory for Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and the Obama administration. Both have promoted bullet trains as job generators and clean transportation alternatives.

more at-
News from The Associated Press

It's only money. If every generation had cheapskates like you there would be no Golden Gate Park, no Golden Gate Bridge, no Bay Bridge, no BART.

 

[jillian]

These ******* imbeciles. they have saddled us with a money giant suck, that will make the Big Dig look like 2 toddlers in a sandbox, initial segment my ass, once it starts, its on.... they will whine that they cannot stop and 'waste all the money we have spent already', we have seen this shit before.

Just wait, as surely as night follows day...... ridership will be flat, subsidies will follow, then theres the inevitable unionized labor to run this boondoggle, everyone will, IF it is done in 2033....2033 hello, stand around arguing over the money drain, wondering why California has its very own Amtrak charity....

The ballot that we ( not me ) approved 3 years ago had a price tag of $34 Billion , that is now estimated at wait for it..............$98 Billion ( the article below has the wrong cost btw). I'm beside myself.


California OKs funding for high-speed rail line

By JUDY LIN
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California lawmakers approved billions of dollars Friday in construction financing for the initial segment of the nation's first dedicated high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The move marked a major political victory for Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and the Obama administration. Both have promoted bullet trains as job generators and clean transportation alternatives.

more at-
News from The Associated Press

yeah, we should be behind every other industrialized nation to satisfy the irrational desire of the far right for austerity and their hatred of government.

that'll show 'em.

 

[Meister]

Another taxpayer boondoggle.

That's okay, everybody knows we're flush with money.

And if we run out, the feds will just print more and send it our way.

w00t!

Looks like Wry and Jillian think that.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Or a war of choice, invading Iraq, Granada, Panama, etc. How about the war on drugs - how did Just say No work?

IMO it's all about priorities.

California declared war? On who?

On Californians. That's why so many leave. Illegals are happy to take their place, but they don't contribute enough money to fund the goodies.

I cannot remember where I heard this. May have read it on a Newspaper website.
Anyway, California is considering an "Exit Tax". This would tax people who upon leaving California would be taxed. On what I have no idea.
It's an attempt to legalize another money grab.
Desperation, I call it.
Here's a link...
If this isn't criminal, I don't know what is.
I can kind of empathize with people who shop lift with impunity thinking the system is screwing them, so why no screw the system.
Obama and Biden have said so. They both campaigned on "things are improving but more slowly than we would like."
Exit Stage Left: California's Proposed Departure Tax - Conservative Crusader
I snipped the article for clarity.
A ballot proposal is underway in California that would amend the State Constitution with a Wealth Tax. Specifically, this is an additional tax to be levied against high valued property, and high income (between 36.5% - 54.3% one-time tax) should a resident die, or decide to leave the State of California.

The writer of the proposal is a CPA and liberal activist by the name of Paul McCauley. In addition to taxing folks for trying to get out of California (or simply dying, for that matter), the proposal imposes an additional 17.5% tax on total incomes of taxpayers with income exceeding $150,000 (which, considering the cost of living here in California, that is not really that high of an income) if single, or $250,000 if married; imposes an additional 35% tax if income exceeds $350,000 for a single person or $500,000 for a married couple, and requires the State to acquire shares of specified corporations to influence environmental policies and practices.

 

[Political Junky]

California declared war? On who?

On Californians. That's why so many leave. Illegals are happy to take their place, but they don't contribute enough money to fund the goodies.

I cannot remember where I heard this. May have read it on a Newspaper website.
Anyway, California is considering an "Exit Tax". This would tax people who upon leaving California would be taxed. On what I have no idea.
It's an attempt to legalize another money grab.
Desperation, I call it.
Here's a link...
If this isn't criminal, I don't know what is.
I can kind of empathize with people who shop lift with impunity thinking the system is screwing them, so why no screw the system.
Obama and Biden have said so. They both campaigned on "things are improving but more slowly than we would like."
Exit Stage Left: California's Proposed Departure Tax - Conservative Crusader
I snipped the article for clarity.
A ballot proposal is underway in California that would amend the State Constitution with a Wealth Tax. Specifically, this is an additional tax to be levied against high valued property, and high income (between 36.5% - 54.3% one-time tax) should a resident die, or decide to leave the State of California.

The writer of the proposal is a CPA and liberal activist by the name of Paul McCauley. In addition to taxing folks for trying to get out of California (or simply dying, for that matter), the proposal imposes an additional 17.5% tax on total incomes of taxpayers with income exceeding $150,000 (which, considering the cost of living here in California, that is not really that high of an income) if single, or $250,000 if married; imposes an additional 35% tax if income exceeds $350,000 for a single person or $500,000 for a married couple, and requires the State to acquire shares of specified corporations to influence environmental policies and practices.

How'd that work out? That article was nearly 5 years ago.

 

[thereisnospoon]

On Californians. That's why so many leave. Illegals are happy to take their place, but they don't contribute enough money to fund the goodies.

I cannot remember where I heard this. May have read it on a Newspaper website.
Anyway, California is considering an "Exit Tax". This would tax people who upon leaving California would be taxed. On what I have no idea.
It's an attempt to legalize another money grab.
Desperation, I call it.
Here's a link...
If this isn't criminal, I don't know what is.
I can kind of empathize with people who shop lift with impunity thinking the system is screwing them, so why no screw the system.
Obama and Biden have said so. They both campaigned on "things are improving but more slowly than we would like."
Exit Stage Left: California's Proposed Departure Tax - Conservative Crusader
I snipped the article for clarity.
A ballot proposal is underway in California that would amend the State Constitution with a Wealth Tax. Specifically, this is an additional tax to be levied against high valued property, and high income (between 36.5% - 54.3% one-time tax) should a resident die, or decide to leave the State of California.

The writer of the proposal is a CPA and liberal activist by the name of Paul McCauley. In addition to taxing folks for trying to get out of California (or simply dying, for that matter), the proposal imposes an additional 17.5% tax on total incomes of taxpayers with income exceeding $150,000 (which, considering the cost of living here in California, that is not really that high of an income) if single, or $250,000 if married; imposes an additional 35% tax if income exceeds $350,000 for a single person or $500,000 for a married couple, and requires the State to acquire shares of specified corporations to influence environmental policies and practices.

How'd that work out? That article was nearly 5 years ago.

Does it rally matter? My point is the absolute GALL of any politician who'd even suggest such a thing.
It's legal theivery. It also shows the absolute ignorance of the fact that government IS not the solution. It is the problem.
A much more recent related article.
RealClearMarkets - When Will Death Spiral States Impose Taxes On Fleeing Citizens?

 

[Political Junky]

Key green light for California high-speed rail - BakersfieldCalifornian.com

SACRAMENTO -- The California High-Speed Rail Authority won approval Thursday from a federal railroad oversight board to start construction this summer on the first leg of what would be the nation's first bullet train.

The ruling removes an important hurdle for the rail authority to start construction of the $68 billion system in the Central Valley. A ruling against the state could have caused substantial delays and cost overruns for the project, which is under tight federal construction deadlines to collect billions of dollars in federal matching grants.

In a 67-page decision issued Thursday, the Surface Transportation Board ruled 2-1 that the state could begin work on the first 65 miles of the project from Merced to Fresno, as long as it maintains the current route and follows through on promises to mitigate damage to the environment caused by construction.
<more>

 

[ScienceRocks]

Wasn't this measure approved by the voters four years ago?

Then why is it not being built?

 

[ScienceRocks]

I hope this goes 250 mph!

 

[Meister]

Key green light for California high-speed rail - BakersfieldCalifornian.com

SACRAMENTO -- The California High-Speed Rail Authority won approval Thursday from a federal railroad oversight board to start construction this summer on the first leg of what would be the nation's first bullet train.

The ruling removes an important hurdle for the rail authority to start construction of the $68 billion system in the Central Valley. A ruling against the state could have caused substantial delays and cost overruns for the project, which is under tight federal construction deadlines to collect billions of dollars in federal matching grants.

In a 67-page decision issued Thursday, the Surface Transportation Board ruled 2-1 that the state could begin work on the first 65 miles of the project from Merced to Fresno, as long as it maintains the current route and follows through on promises to mitigate damage to the environment caused by construction.
<more>

This is a symptom of what's wrong with Cali these days. Merced to Fresno, and at what price?

 

[thereisnospoon]

68 billion dollars...This thing has no chance of ever being paid for.

 

[bripat9643]

I'd like to see how that is going to work. How is the State of California going to know you have left until you fail to file an income tax form the following year? Once you are gone, how are they going to get their hands on your funds? If they claimed I owed them money, I would simply extend the middle finger salute to them.

California declared war? On who?

On Californians. That's why so many leave. Illegals are happy to take their place, but they don't contribute enough money to fund the goodies.

I cannot remember where I heard this. May have read it on a Newspaper website.
Anyway, California is considering an "Exit Tax". This would tax people who upon leaving California would be taxed. On what I have no idea.
It's an attempt to legalize another money grab.
Desperation, I call it.
Here's a link...
If this isn't criminal, I don't know what is.
I can kind of empathize with people who shop lift with impunity thinking the system is screwing them, so why no screw the system.
Obama and Biden have said so. They both campaigned on "things are improving but more slowly than we would like."
Exit Stage Left: California's Proposed Departure Tax - Conservative Crusader
I snipped the article for clarity.
A ballot proposal is underway in California that would amend the State Constitution with a Wealth Tax. Specifically, this is an additional tax to be levied against high valued property, and high income (between 36.5% - 54.3% one-time tax) should a resident die, or decide to leave the State of California.

The writer of the proposal is a CPA and liberal activist by the name of Paul McCauley. In addition to taxing folks for trying to get out of California (or simply dying, for that matter), the proposal imposes an additional 17.5% tax on total incomes of taxpayers with income exceeding $150,000 (which, considering the cost of living here in California, that is not really that high of an income) if single, or $250,000 if married; imposes an additional 35% tax if income exceeds $350,000 for a single person or $500,000 for a married couple, and requires the State to acquire shares of specified corporations to influence environmental policies and practices.