Gaines slams Legislature’s high-speed rail vote
Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Rocklin, vice chair of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee, criticized the California legislature’s vote to authorize approximately $8 billion for California’s High Speed Rail Project last week.
“The Democrats just passed another budget that is billions of dollars out of balance and now they are threatening to cut billions more from our schools unless they get a massive tax increase in November,” said Gaines in statement. “And they think this is the appropriate time to sink a fortune into a high speed rail project that is doomed to failure? Those half-empty train cars will be a monument to misplaced priorities and fiscal recklessness.”
The bill passed the Assembly on Thursday and passed in the Senate on Friday, with all 15 Republican senators voting against the measure.
“This project will push California over the fiscal cliff and it will be a legendary waste of taxpayer money,” said Gaines. “It will require endless subsidies and will blast a massive hole into our budget. Our dollars would be better spent on our schools, public safety, or more effective infrastructure projects.”
Gaines represents the 1st Senate District, which includes all or parts of El Dorado and Placer counties.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
I agree. What are these people who voted for the project thinking? And Gaines is right. Those train cars will be more than half-empty along with our wallets.It’s time to kick both parties out of office and enter a brave new world..and I’m not talking about Ron Paul either. We need new blood in this country or we’ll soon be just like Europe..broke!
Voters were duped with bogus, inaccurate, misleading, and deceptive information when this boondoggle appeared on the ballot. Unfortunately, it has only gotten worse since then.
Supposedly rail is much more effective for moving heavy freight, not people. This might get state government employees to and from Sacramento in a desirable fashion. Maybe those state employees can live farther away from Sacramento where housing possibly is cheaper too.
This is going to be paid for with the tax increase Govenor Brown is putting on the Nov. ballot.
Steven,
Do you think Californians will pas the Brown tax increase?
We NEED high speed rail. This is an investment in the future of our State and will bring much needed jobs. Jobs translate to better livelihoods for our citizens, higher revenues to the state and the cycle for future investment in our infrastructure continues. Are we learning nothing from what “austerity” brings by watching the EU?
We “NEED” a balanced budget first. Better livlihoods for our citizens would be the result of LESS taxes, not more.
A lot of American families today “need” a lot of things – better housing, a more reliable vehicle, better food options, better dental care, etc. We don’t have these things right now because we can’t, as average families, afford them.
Our government needs to be more responsible with what they already take from us instead of continuing irresponsible spending and then just turning to the overtaxed citizens for more.
Ted Gaines should pay back the $1 million he cost the taxpayers so his wife could inherit his seat in the Assembly. Apparently he’s against wasteful spending unless it benefits himself.
In our conservative district, Mr. Gaines was a shoo-in to win the Senate seat he wanted two years ago. He was also certain to win his Assembly seat. He decided to run for both, freezing out serious competition.
When he won both seats, he resigned the Assembly seat and put his wife up for it! That forced the state to pay $1 million for the two special elections it took for her to win. A completely unnecessary expense for the state, but a second fat paycheck each month for the Gaines.
If Mr. Gaines were consistent, he would repay to the state the money his sleazy political game cost it. Then his arguments against state spending would be believable.
JoAnn Conner— You are absolutely correct about needing a balanced budget without more taxes, in fact fewer taxes.
Cutting taxes actually Increases revenue… everybody with half a brain knows that! That’s why all the money that has trickled down from the great miracle of reaganomics has created this exceptional American economic success. I’ve got mine and I’ll be danged if I part with one penny of it for any of those “other people”, you know who I mean.
It’s possible that there’s a dumber idea, or a bigger waste of taxpayer money than the high speed rail project?! Gee, we’re broke, it’s going to take forever to build, and the only guaranteed service is away from the population centers of the state. Oh, and it’s counting on far from certain Federal funding. Like I said, it’s possible, maybe, just maybe there’s a dumber idea or bigger waste of taxpayer dollars out there?!
Green welfare for planners, consutants and engineers.
Why did we never hear about the approach proposed by the French and Japanese to get involved and bring their expertise to bear – with a much different plan – before the vote? And why did they walk away when informed their advice to send it up I-5 was shunted aside? This article only appeared today:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rail-advice-20120709,0,4539140.story
Might they have been the private funders needed for this, if it’s to have a prayer of working? I really can’t believe this story didn’t make the media – or at least I didn’t see it until today.
This has been handled terribly. The rail could be a good long term idea under the right circumstances (private funding support, dedicated trackway, minimal taxpayer risk), but it didn’t happen correctly. Time for an initiative in 2014 to stop the bleeding before it drains us.
This is very suspicious sounding. From the article:
From 2010 to November 2011, SNCF officials briefed California legislators and transportation agencies. They met with rail authority board members and two chief executives, Mehdi Morshed and Roelof Van Ark, both of whom have since left. The company’s message was blunt.
“Simply put, the California High-Speed Rail Authority has a wish list, not a plan,” an SNCF presentation stated. “This lack of an investment-grade business plan is a deadly defect, particularly in a project that by law cannot rely on government subsidies for its operation and maintenance.”
SNCF no longer wants a role in the project, its enthusiasm extinguished as the proposal became increasingly controversial, opposition mounted in the Central Valley and company officials learned that the political establishment would not be flexible on the alignment.
“The French are not interested right now because of what they have seen,” McNamara said. “They don’t think it is a feasible project the way it is currently designed.”
This is what we get when we elect idiots. Both sides. The first part is from Madera to Bakersfield. Wow that is impressive. How many farmers are going to give up their Fords and Chevy’s to take a stupid train. What an absolute waste. What about the educaction of our kids?
The Truth
Did you note the TeaBag party is alive and almost well from their majority response?