The California legislature has approved spending billions for a high speed rail line from nowhere to nowhere in the Central Valley but postponed yet again putting a water bond on the ballot to save the Sacramento Delta.
Gosh, makes perfect sense to me. Spend billions on a rail line that cannot possibly ever be fully funded and which will never be profitable rather than fix an aging water infrastructure so millions of people will continue to get water.
California now gets $3.2 billion from the federal government. Don’t assume it will go to high speed rail.
Just passing the bill, gives California a $3.2 billion federal bailout while the actual use of funds may or may not ever appear (our money is on the latter). If still confused think Greece and Germany, because Federal tax collections were just used to give California a very fungible cash injection. Where the money ends up now is anyone’s guess.
Thus the stupidity of all of this is heightened by the usual pretend-and-extend desperation attempts to balance the California budget. I would not be at all surprised if the $3.2 billion went into the general fund with California promising to pay it back once construction starts. But they won’t have the money thus the whole charade will start over again.
Meanwhile, California politicians continue to ignore the Sacramento Delta, which is where most of the state gets its water from.
It never ceases to amaze me how stupid our own government is to be spending money on things they want when there is plenty of things we need that the money would be best suited for.
Remember not so long ago the $10 million dollar elephant habitat at the LA Zoo that would cost $1 million if they didn’t build it, just for planning and other costs incurred they would be on the hook for? Does loosing $1 million justify not having $9 million for something we need other than something they want?
So I realize if we stop the high speed rail right now and divert funds to rebuilding our water supply lines that California would still be on the hook for money spent for the line, but we need whatever is going to be left over for our failing infrastructure of water supply lines.
We could put people to work repairing roads and bridges and major water supply lines, including making upgrades where necessary. The problem is our own government isn’t using the federal money for those purposes that it was meant for. It reminds me of the homeless people I see drinking alcohol instead of eating food. I feel sorry for the ones that aren’t getting drunk constantly and are dumpster diving for a meal. Those other bastards could stop drinking and afford a meal, so if they starve and die or their liver kicks out, I don’t feel sorry for them. I only feel sorry for those who aren’t wasting whatever money and effort they have left in them just to get drunk and forget the world and themselves for a few hours at a time.
Another thing I’m pissed about is all the undocumented workers I catch putting flyers on my doorstep. Perfect job for the homeless. I mean it’s not like somebody is going to pay a homeless person any less than an undocumented worker, or not pay them under the table in cash.
You can put a fork in me cause I’m done and ready to move to Canada and give up the American dream for trying to survive all the B.S. that goes on that doesn’t need to. If you live the American dream you’ll always be found wanting, but if you do what is necessary you will never be needing.
We need an Arab Spring here. And I think we’ll get one too.