REDSTATE | Published January 7, 2025
High-speed rail in California would have been nice. Sure, it’d be cool to zip along in under three hours from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
But don’t hold your breath—this is the formerly Golden State, and despite voters approving the rail line in a 2008 ballot initiative, billions upon billions of federal and state dollars have been thrown at the project and yet it’s barely a quarter complete. The first operational segment, a 171-mile segment stretch between Merced and Bakersfield (because somehow that’s an incredibly important commuter path?), is now expected to be operational between 2030 and 2033.
Sure, I believe you.
DOGE’s Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have already put the project on their target list, and on Monday, CA GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley decided he’s seen enough too and filed the “No More Funds for California High Speed Rail Act”:
He said in a statement posted to his website:
“California’s high-speed rail project has failed because of political incompetence, and there is no plausible scenario where the cost to federal or state taxpayers can be justified,” Rep. Kiley said. “Our share of federal transportation funding should go towards real infrastructure needs, such as improving roads that rank among the worst in the country.”
Other GOP reps. have also expressed concern over the ridiculous delays and cost overruns:
Representative Sam Graves of Missouri, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has criticized the project’s costs and funding strategies. In a statement to Newsweek, Graves described the rail line as a “highly troubled project” and raised concerns about its reliance on government subsidies.
He pointed out that the current funding supports only a limited segment between Merced and Bakersfield, which he estimated will cost $35 billion.
“Full cost estimates [for Phase 1, between San Francisco and Anaheim] now exceed $100 billion and growing,” Graves said, calling for a comprehensive review of the project before any additional funding is allocated.
Since Newsom is well… Newsom, he doesn’t care about the fact that the state is out of money and the project has been an unmitigated disaster—he vows to continue throwing as much other people’s dollars as he can at it and hope that someday it magically gets completed.
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SOURCE: www.redstate.com
RELATED: Newsom proposes ‘balanced’ budget with no deficits
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference with the California Highway Patrol announcing new efforts to boost public safety in the East Bay, July 11, 2024, in Oakland, Calif.
THE HILL | Published January 7, 2025
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday proposed a $322 billion budget that he said would be “balanced” and without deficits — marking a significant turnaround after two years of shortfalls.
Newsom delivered a “top-line” version of the 2025-2026 budget proposal at a Monday press conference, noting that more details will be released by his administration later this week. While the governor’s January proposal is due to lawmakers on Friday, the document typically undergoes many revisions before it must be finalized in June.
“We are America, but in the future tense, the future happens here first,” Newsom said. “We are America’s coming attraction. California is the future, and we certainly are the future of the American economy, because we’re the tentpole of the American economy.”
The governor’s proposal included a $228.9 billion general fund and would rely on $17 billion in reserves. He also noted that state tax revenues are up $16.5 billion dollars, while acknowledging that “this is a snapshot subject to change.”
“We endeavored to make this year’s budget a nonevent,” Newsom said. “Last year, we endeavored to solve the problems this year and did something we haven’t done in the past.”
The 2024-2025 budget included total expenditures of $297.9 billion and a deficit of $46.8 billion, requiring cuts to a variety of programs, including climate and health care initiatives.
Newsom described this year’s “leveling” as an expected outcome after “two extreme years of volatility, the likes of which we haven’t seen in quite some time in California.”
“This budget reflects a foundational focus,” Newsom said. “While it’s aspirational in many respects, it’s also just driving accountability. It’s about more transparency, it’s about reform and it’s about being prepared for uncertainties into the future.”
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SOURCE: www.thehill.com
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