What the Oroville Dam Spillway Fail Says About California's Priorities

About 200,000 people near the Oroville Dam were evacuated as the nation watched to see if hundreds of homes and businesses would be destroyed in a full breach of the dam's emergency spillway.   In the meantime, we find out that there were past warnings that it was unsafe.  According to a story in the Washington Post, the fix to keep the spillway safe would have cost about $100 million 11 years ago.  But, the State of California had other priorities.

Instead of taking care of its huge infrastructure problems, the state opted to build a high-speed bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco.   The original cost projection for that was $98.5 billion. Already, the easiest part of the "build" -- the Central Valley -- is seeing a 50% cost overrun (as being reported by the LA Times).  To put the original cost of the bullet train into perspective; it is more than 1000 times the money needed to fix the spillway.  By one estimate, California will have to spend $500 billion dollars over the next 2 decades to fix, expand, and maintain the State's infrastructure.

Instead, the priority was to build a bullet train to save the world from climate change, by getting cars off the roads and planes out of the air; even though some studies have concluded that the impact on climate change will be negligible. In the meantime, thousands of people are left at risk in Oroville. How many more are at risk from unfunded infrastructure hazards in California because of "climate change" projects like a bullet train?

References:

The government was warned that the Oroville Dam emergency spillway was unsafe. It didn’t listen: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/02/13/officials-were-warned-the-oroville-dam-emergency-spillway-wasnt-safe-they-didnt-listen/?utm_term=.2812180ddd0c

Taking California's bullet train to a greener future - LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-kelly-california-high-speed-rail-20140129-story.html

High Speed Rail Won't Impact Climate Change - California Policy Center: http://californiapolicycenter.org/high-speed-rail-wont-impact-climate-change/

California's Bullet Train to Cost $98.5 Billion: What Else That Can Buy: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Californias-Bullet-Train-to-Cost-985-Billion-What-Else-That-Can-Buy-133041823.html

California's bullet train is hurtling toward a multibillion-dollar overrun, a confidential federal report warns: http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-cost-overruns-20170106-story.html

California’s Crumbling Infrastructure: An Urgent Priority: http://www.westerncity.com/Western-City/February-2014/PresMsg-CA-Crumbling-Infrastructure/

Shocking rain damage is wakeup call to fix ailing roads, infrastructure, experts say: http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news/20170218/shocking-rain-damage-is-wakeup-call-to-fix-ailing-roads-infrastructure-experts-say 

California's Taking A Bullet Train To Its Head

On a near daily basis, people and businesses are leaving California to find new homes and new places  without high taxes and government spending, environmental nonsense, and absolutely out-of-control regulations. It's as if the ghost of Horace Greeley has come back to say: "Go East young man. Go East!"  And when they do leave, they take their tax base with them; leaving California with a declining source of revenue.  So, in response to the exodus, Governor Jerry Brown wants to raise taxes even higher in an attempt to close the gap on an already estimated $10 billion budget deficit for this year.  With the 3rd highest state income tax rates in the nation, Brown seems to be hell bent on being numero uno; guaranteeing that California has the worst business climate of all the states.

Now, you would think that, with all the debt and deficit problems and with people exiting due to over-regulation and taxing, the California legislature and Governor Brown would be working overtime to reduce spending.  But, no.  California continues to do what it's always done: spend and regulate.  In fact, Jerry Brown's latest foray into extravagance is a proposed, taxpayer-funded $100 billion bullet train from L.A. to San Francisco.

Big labor is all for California taking the "bullet" because this 10-year project means a lot of union jobs.   The environmentalists see it as a way of keeping cars off the roads and airplanes out of the air. However, the fact that this project will cost Californians $10 billion a year in money they don't have seems to go right over the politician's heads.  California is already running a $10 billion budget deficit and this project will double that. The fact that bullet trains have only proven themselves cost effective against other modes of transport over short distances -- 40 miles or less -- without serious government subsidies, also doesn't seem to have Jerry Brown and other Democrats losing any sleep. Nor does it seem to matter that a tax-payer subsidized bullet train will actually reduce state income tax and, in addition, cause airlines to cut back on flights causing a further loss of revenue.

California is already near bankruptcy and, if the bullet train project is actually approved, it could very well push the state over the edge into financial default.  What concerns me is that, when California does default, the state will likely seek a bailout from Washington, and, you can bet that big spending Obama and other Democrats will be glad to oblige; and, my guess is, without any real austerity mandates.  So, ultimately, California will be rewarded for its irresponsible handling of its state government, with the rest of the country having to pony-up the cash to bail them out.