Leftists like to tell us how almost any problem can be solved by giving the government more money.
California voters bought that line and agreed to give their government extra money to speed things up in their state.
But years later, it looks like all they’re getting is a fast-track plan to blow unknown amounts of taxpayer money.
It’s been 14 years since taxpayers in California approved spending almost $10 billion to get a bullet train project started.
Now, more than a decade later, the state plans to spend $105 billion on 500 miles of track – and they’re just getting started.
Construction is underway in California’s Central Valley, but the political drama and legal challenges are ongoing – making the whole thing look like a massive waste of money rather than the slick transportation solution it was supposed to be.
Congresswoman Michelle Steel has emerged as a major critic of the project.
She introduced a bill in Congress called “Stop the High-Speed Money Pit Act,” which would keep the government from putting federal funds into what Steel considers a lost cause.
“After more than a decade, the project’s price tag has ballooned from about $33 billion to more than $100 billion with no segments in operation and no realistic timeline for when the rail line will be completed,” Steel wrote in an article published on her website. “Despite these failures and no evidence supporting that completion of this project is attainable, California is pinning their hopes on a bailout from the Federal Government to secure additional funding for this project.”
Nine other Republican Representatives in Congress have signed onto the act.
One of the reasons for opposition to the new rail system is that families and businesses have been forced to give up their property for the government project, but there’s still no payoff for the community at large.
The trains were supposed to be running between San Francisco and Los Angeles by 2020.
Last year, construction crews warned the state the project will be delayed by another two years.
A fall 2021 update posted on YouTube has had more than 85,000 views, but while it contained plenty of pretty shots of construction sites, it didn’t provide much in the way of actual information.
Based on local news reports, it looks like those involved in the project are hoping Joe Biden will come through with endless funds for their bottomless money pit.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
