Jon Coupal is President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
[We are pleased to offer this preview of an original commentary on California politics penned by Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. At the bottom of the preview is a link to the full column on the HJTA website – Flash]
DO NEWER TECHNOLOGIES THREATEN HIGH SPEED RAIL?
Jon Coupal, HJTA
So many lies were told to convince voters to approve the High Speed Rail project six years ago, that most Californians have soured on it. They are appalled that the estimated cost to build, the time to build, the time between destinations and the price of a ticket have all nearly doubled since voters approved a $10 billion bond to kick start the project.
Add to this that the private investment that backers promised would limit taxpayers’ liability is nowhere to be seen and it is little wonder that even the former Chairman of the High Speed Rail Authority, respected independent Quentin Kopp, has excoriated the project as it has morphed into something wholly unrecognizable from what the voters approved.
It is somewhat ironic that Governor Brown, who fancies himself as a futurist (as Governor in the 1970’s he thought California should have its own satellite) wants to commit Californians to spending billions of dollars on what is increasingly apparent to be an aging technology. Today’s futurists and tech savvy interests are suggesting that investing in High Speed Rail might be tantamount to buying stock in a chain of blacksmith shops in 1910 just as the automobile began replacing the horse as the dominant form of personal transportation.
Please click here to read the entire column