Commentary
When the $10 billion high-speed rail bond was on the ballot in 2008 and being pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of his environmentalist personal makeover, I made two predictions: 1. It really existed only to dole out billions to private contractors and construction-union members. 2. It never would get built, except possibly in a highly truncated form.
That’s exactly what has happened, as detailed in a new fact sheet from the California Senate Republican Caucus, which summarizes this boondoggle of boondoggles. I’ll add some links to further studies for those interested.
1. Proposition 1A was supposed to cost a total of $33 billion when completed. But the current estimate is $105 billion, according to the 2022 Draft Business Plan of the California High-Speed Rail Authority….