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California is a prime example of liberal left Democrat Party madness out of control, and ruining the lives of everyone not a ruling elitist establishment goon. At the rate we are going, the collapse of California has got to be on the horizon. The fate of Venezuela or Detroit would be merciful compared to what California is headed for, yet, drunk with their dreams of a utopian leftist agenda, the Democrats continue to destroy the State, tax by tax, and stupid expenditure by stupid expenditure. If ever there was an example on how not to run a governmental operation, California is it.
● Cost for California bullet train system rises to $77.3 billion
The price of the California liberal left bullet train that nobody will ride keeps going up and up and up. The newest price tag is $77.3 billion and could rise as high as $98.1 billion — an uptick of at least $13 billion from estimates two years ago.
All of this from a State that can't even afford to fix its own roads, and has slammed motorists with gas taxes and Cap and Trade taxes, when we already have the highest gas prices in the country.
The high speed rail project is not only more expensive than originally planned, but it is also behind schedule. They originally told us it would be completed by 2025. Now they are talking 2029 for a partial system between San Francisco and Bakersfield, and 2033 before the full system is supposed to begin operating.
I am not holding my breath for anything to be done until after 2040.
And then, by then, California will have a legal population less than North Dakota's, and plenty of illegal aliens who not only won't be able to afford to ride the train, but even they will be out of work because of all of the farms being shut down by the train's need for land.
Besides, by then the State of California will likely be in worse shape than Detroit and Venezuela combined.
All of these numbers the politicians keep throwing at us also don't fully take into account the reality of rising costs, other potential delays, strident litigation and backlashes in communities where homes, businesses, farms and environmental preserves will have to give up land to the rail's right-of-way.
And, no investors have appeared, as originally promised, either.
Early on, planners warned that the cost would be more than $100 billion. But Jerry Brown, California's governor, didn't like that estimate. So, he sought new estimates. And then, he deceptively sold those lower estimates to a gullible, and frankly foolish, public.
As for tickets to ride the train? Originally, they were talking $55 for a ticket. Now, they are saying it will be about $98 per trip. You can fly for less.
To make it all make sense, they will also need over a hundred and twenty thousand passengers per day . . . a pipe dream, at best.
The failed train will sink California, and become the failed legacy of Jerry Brown, and his merry band of idiot Democrats.
● California to Tax Drinking Water
High gas taxes, income taxes, and a high speed rail train nobody will ride are not the only rabbits that Sacramento politicians are pulling out of their high-quarters. Now, they also wish to tax drinking water.
The plan is a 95-cent per month tax on water bills in California. The proposal is Senate Bill 623, which would also add a new water connection tax, fertilizer tax and milk tax . . . all, they say, to raise about $200 million for a new “Safe and Affordable Water” fund.
How about instead of pouring billions into the high speed rail, they just build more dams and reservoirs?
Besides, do we really believe them when they say they will use the money for a water fund? That's not what happened to 2014's Proposition 1 - which approved building, you guessed it, above ground reservoirs. All of that money went to the general fund, which went to liberal left policies regarding social programs, and of course Jerry Brown's stupid train. In short, the Democrats cancelled all of the above-ground facilities approved by voters, and then took the money.
Taxes always hurt the consumers, and those with challenging budgets. In short, adding a tax on drinking water will only make clean and safe water less affordable for all Californians.
But, that is what California Democrats do. They are constantly trying to figure out how to squeeze more money out of the taxpayers, and businesses, and as a result, there is a great exodus from the State. According to the California Tax Foundation, since the beginning of this year Sacramento lawmakers have introduced more than 90 bills that would cost taxpayers more than $370 billion annually in higher taxes and fees.
Winston Churchill once said, “I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”
This year alone, California lawmakers have spent tens of millions of dollars on pet projects with no statewide benefits.
And now, to help pay for their insatiable spending habits, they must tax our water?
Passage of S.B. 623 will require a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature as it is a tax increase. While the Democrats have a large majority, their super-majority has been broken up by sex scandals. That said, if any Republicans vote for it, it may be able to pass. However, I am suspecting every GOP member in Sacramento will vote against it. Or, at least that is what I am hoping.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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