And in Crazy Train news.

[Tank]

5 hours ago, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

In 2008 the estimated cost was $40B. 

[Don]

On 4/19/2022 at 11:54 AM, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

In 2008 the estimated cost was $40B. 

I'm really looking forward to the day that the Adam McKay movie about this scam comes out.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

I hope some day just for the laughs some independent group audits the project to see where the money ends up.  14 years after enough idiots approved it and it's been scaled back while the cost is 2.6x the original estimate and growing. 

[Don]

12 hours ago, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

I hope some day just for the laughs some independent group audits the project to see where the money ends up.  14 years after enough idiots approved it and it's been scaled back while the cost is 2.6x the original estimate and growing. 

Yeah, it’s gonna be awesome hearing about all the dudes with communications degrees getting 6 or 7 figures thrown their way for “environmental impact consulting services” and whatnot. Also wouldn’t be shocked to find a few effectively fake companies in there, or real companies that have just been getting paid to do nothing (or nothing that takes any real resources) for a couple decades now.
This thing has always been nothing more than a slush fund for bureaucratic corruption. At least that’s the best-case/most palatable scenario in my mind; the only other possible conclusion being that all the major players involved in this project are just horrendously and consistently incompetent.

[gotbeer]

4 hours ago, Don said:

Yeah, it’s gonna be awesome hearing about all the dudes with communications degrees getting 6 or 7 figures thrown their way for “environmental impact consulting services” and whatnot. Also wouldn’t be shocked to find a few effectively fake companies in there, or real companies that have just been getting paid to do nothing (or nothing that takes any real resources) for a couple decades now.
This thing has always been nothing more than a slush fund for bureaucratic corruption. At least that’s the best-case/most palatable scenario in my mind; the only other possible conclusion being that all the major players involved in this project are just horrendously and consistently incompetent.

Well, there is the main company that the crazy train buraucracy picked, that everyone knew was not worth picking, that bid way low, and is now suing their way past the top bidders bid.

[gotbeer]

Standoff Between Governor, Legislators Imperils California Bullet Train Project

Just let it die.  If this was a human, they would be brain dead, paralyzed, blind, and deaf, but the hospital still trying to perform life saving measures and billing the patient.

 

[Jason]

17 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

Standoff Between Governor, Legislators Imperils California Bullet Train Project

Just let it die.  If this was a human, they would be brain dead, paralyzed, blind, and deaf, but the hospital still trying to perform life saving measures and billing the patient.

 

Yet the people still responsible for this waste of our money will get reelected 

[Lhalo]

“The naysayers are always going to be naysayers,” said Ray LaHood, U.S. Transportation Secretary under President Obama and a crusader for high-speed rail. “There’s construction underway. Hundreds of people are working on the project and have good paying jobs. There’s a plan now to go to Bakersfield. The future is very encouraging. It hasn’t stopped.”

What a fuckin scumbag.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

Hundreds of people working on a project that's now estimated to cost over $100B. Definitely makes sense to keep going for those hundreds of people at the expense of millions taxpayers.  I can't wait to not take a trip on whatever train they do eventually build. 

[Jason]

53 minutes ago, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

Hundreds of people working on a project that's now estimated to cost over $100B. Definitely makes sense to keep going for those hundreds of people at the expense of millions taxpayers.  I can't wait to not take a trip on whatever train they do eventually build. 

You never know, you may need to get from Bakersfield to Merced in a hurry

[Barf]

Thought this was gonna be a thread on Ozzy when I first opened it

[Tank]

On 5/10/2022 at 9:30 AM, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

Hundreds of people working on a project that's now estimated to cost over $100B. Definitely makes sense to keep going for those hundreds of people at the expense of millions taxpayers.  I can't wait to not take a trip on whatever train they do eventually build. 

just imagine what the cost will be for a trip from LA to SF on this. it'll probably be just as expensive as flying. anyone who thinks this is going to be a cheap mode of transportation is way off base.

[Blarg]

Meanwhile in Virginia and North Carolina.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/bus-train/high-speed-rail-to-connect-virginia-north-carolina

From Richmond to Raliegh at a projected cost of $58 million and a completion date of 3 to 7 years. 

[Kotchman]

45 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Meanwhile in Virginia and North Carolina.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/bus-train/high-speed-rail-to-connect-virginia-north-carolina

From Richmond to Raliegh at a projected cost of $58 million and a completion date of 3 to 7 years. 

This doesn’t surprise me as Nc continues to follow VA in decline. Hell if you’re going to build a train , don’t use the shit hole known as Richmond. Richmond needs a train to the nearest federal penitentiary 

[Blarg]

You are kind of a stupid guy that doesn't understand the point but has to lip off his prejudices anyway. 

[Jason]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

Meanwhile in Virginia and North Carolina.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/bus-train/high-speed-rail-to-connect-virginia-north-carolina

From Richmond to Raliegh at a projected cost of $58 million and a completion date of 3 to 7 years. 

Just a few billion less than California's 

[gotbeer]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

Meanwhile in Virginia and North Carolina.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/bus-train/high-speed-rail-to-connect-virginia-north-carolina

From Richmond to Raliegh at a projected cost of $58 million and a completion date of 3 to 7 years. 

Amazing that they can do it, according to maps from Richmond to Raliegh is 155 miles, so at a cost of $375k a mile.  And yet Calolfornia is 383 miles between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and it's costing over $100 billion, or $261 million a mile.

Things shouldn't cost 1000x more to do them here.  

[Jason]

16 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

Amazing that they can do it, according to maps from Richmond to Raliegh is 155 miles, so at a cost of $375k a mile.  And yet Calolfornia is 383 miles between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and it's costing over $100 billion, or $261 million a mile.

Things shouldn't cost 1000x more to do them here.  

It makes sense if you believe there's probably a lot of people getting their pockets lined from the project 

[gotbeer]

Clear Victory for High-Speed Rail as State Budget is Approved

Quote

Lawmakers voted and approved a $308 billion state budget on Wednesday that includes $4.2 billion for completion of the Central Valley spine of the California high-speed rail project. 

Stupid.  This state wastes so much money. 

[Jay]

Seems like they never save for a rainy day, and then when the real estate market tanks they'll be asking for a tax increase to help pay for schools.

 

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

No need save for a rainy day when you can pass the cost on to taxpayers.  Kind of like CalPERS playing it fast and loose then when their investments shit the bed they go after cities and taxpayers for the difference. 

[gotbeer]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Seems like they never save for a rainy day, and then when the real estate market tanks they'll be asking for a tax increase to help pay for schools.

 

It never rains in Calolfornia!  And on a similar note, imagine what could have been done with $4.2 billion to do one of many things.  Like build an aqueduct from the Mississippi.  Or how about putting solar above our current aqueduct to generate clean electricity and help prevent evaporation of our water.  Or giving all adolecents that wanted it, sex change operations without parental consent.  

[Lhalo]

2 hours ago, gotbeer said:

It never rains in Calolfornia!  And on a similar note, imagine what could have been done with $4.2 billion to do one of many things.  Like build an aqueduct from the Mississippi.  Or how about putting solar above our current aqueduct to generate clean electricity and help prevent evaporation of our water.  Or giving all adolecents that wanted it, sex change operations without parental consent.  

We could fill Lake Powell in less than a year with an aqueduct from Mississippi River

Regarding the Mississippi water letters of June 26, citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi south of the Old River Control Structure don’t need all that water. All it does is cause flooding and massive tax expenditures to repair and strengthen dikes.

The best solution would be for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build an aqueduct from the Old River Control Structure on the Mississippi to Lake Powell, fill it, and then send more water from there down the Colorado to fill lake Mead. 

About 4.5 million/gals a second flow past that structure on the Mississippi. As mentioned, New Orleans has a problem with that much water anyway, so let’s divert 250,000 gallons/sec to Lake Powell, which currently has a shortage of 5.5 trillion gallons.

This would take 254 days to fill. 

https://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/readers/2022/06/30/we-can-lake-powell-less-than-year-via-mississippi-aqueduct/7751467001/

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

An aqueduct, some desalination plants along the coast, reservoirs and whatever else can be done.  Whatever they're going to do hop to it as we did the drought dance in SoCal from 2007-2009 then again from 2012-2016 and our elected officials did absofuckinglutely nothing.  I'm not an engineer and don't pretend to know what it would take to get some of these things done but there's no good reason why going back to 2007 something hasn't been done to address this.  Must not be profitable enough for our elected officials despite the fact that CA exported over $20B in agriculture in 2020 and represents 13% of agriculture production in the US.

[Tank]

4 hours ago, Jay said:

Seems like they never save for a rainy day, and then when the real estate market tanks they'll be asking for a tax increase to help pay for schools.

 

They’ve been wanting get rid of prop 13 for years, so this would line up.