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In the article it says the cost for the entire project is currently $64 B. I can't fathom that kind of money
by sputknick 9y ago
In the article it says the cost for the entire project is currently $64 B. I can't fathom that kind of money
- QAPereo 9y agoThink of it this way... we’re going to end up spending about $7 trillion in Iraq and Afghanistan having accomplished essentially nothing good. $64billion is a rounding error for our government.
- BRAlNlAC 9y agoThat doesn't really work though. If you earn 70k a year, $640 isn't a rounding error, that's still a significant part of your budget.
- QAPereo 9y agoYeah, but we’re not talking about total budget, not even the total military budget; that’s $7 trilllion just on two losing wars. You need to lose another decimal place, and remember that you also print your own money and can levy taxes.
- lamarpye 9y agoYou are confusing the Federal government with the CA state government.
- acdha 9y agoTry dividing it by 50: every state could get two of these projects with half a trillion left over for DC and the territories. That’s even before you factor in that California’s population and economy would merit a larger chunk than, say, South Dakota. Seems like a better deal than paying to destabilize a region and create a lot of long-term enemies.
- jeffbax 9y agoIf you don't consider the 20T of growing debt, sure. At what point do we ever care about the budget at all then? Asking as an opponent of the wars.
- QAPereo 9y agoCare about budgets, and cut the waste such as losing wars and corrupt, broken nonsense like the F-35. Care about price controls in the health sector, and care about investing in infrastructure.
- ebikelaw 9y agoCalifornia spends that much on our roads every four years. It is hardly unimaginable.
- Gibbon1 9y agoDivide $64 billion by 30 years.
- sputknick 9y agoThat makes it a lot more reasonable, thank you.
- DrScump 9y agoBut then add operating costs and debt service over 30 years.
- Gibbon1 9y agoAnd then subtract fares. http://www.hsr.ca.gov/docs/about/ridership/ridership_revenue_source_doc5.pdf http://www.hsr.ca.gov/docs/about/ridership/ridership_revenue...
- DrScump 9y agoSubtract actual farebox revenues, yes. But I don't expect that their revenue projections are any more accurate than their cost estimates were.