Jon Coupal is President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Former Speaker Willie Brown once said, “In the world of civic projects, the first budget is really just a down payment.” The strategy, he noted, was to start construction of a project quickly so it would be hard to stop once people learned of the real cost which, in many cases, could be many multiples of the initial price represented to citizens.
Constant cost overruns and a lack of unaccountability plague California’s infrastructure projects. Politicians casually throw “millions” and “billions” around like a game of monopoly, leaving hard-working families and future generations to pay the debt they so flippantly create.
Over the last 20 years, $50 billion in revenue bond debt has been issued without voter approval. A loophole in state law allows politicians to commit taxpayers to repaying enormous revenue bond debt without voter oversight.
To read the entire column click here http://www.hjta.org/california-commentary/billions-in-new-bonds-should-not-escape-voter-approval/