I bet all of us in the other 49 are going to be paying for that one when they need to get bailed out and Helicopter Ben fires up his magical money machine. I wish they would have spent that money on a space elevator instead so at least we could pay for a one way ride for some politicians and supreme court judges when it was complete.
Interesting that an independent sovereign state can voluntarily join with agreement from member states but cannot voluntarily secede assuming with agreement from member states but member states could force one to secede.
The best part about this is the argument that was used to push it through, that the state would lose billions of dollars in federal matching funds if the project were postponed. So the feds push CA into bankruptcy and then will act all surprised when they file?
When Jerry Brown was Governor the first time he was often referred to as the Space Cadet, but that moniker is no longer used because he is so grandly overshadowed by the legistlature. But it isn't the fault of Florida voters that California will be the first. In fact, Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment mandating the construction of a high speed rail line years ago. Of course, the proposal did not include any tax increase to fund it. More recently, they approved an amendment to mandate a reduction in school class sizes. Again, no tax increases were included.
Fortunately, Florida's Governorship and legislature have been dominated recently by mean-spirited Republicans who were elected by a different set of voters and refuse to spend money they don't have. So our high-speed rail plan is still on the books though not much construction is planned in foreseeable future. Meanwhile, we've encountered a recession so state spending has had to be cut just to stay even.
Still, it's enough to make quite a few libertarians and conservatives here in Florida advocates of a very "broad constructionist" interpretation of the Florida constitution. We have to build a high-speed rail line someday. And someday we have to reduce class sizes, but tomorrow is always a day away.
I'm glad I got the hell out of there!
ReplyDeleteI bet all of us in the other 49 are going to be paying for that one when they need to get bailed out and Helicopter Ben fires up his magical money machine. I wish they would have spent that money on a space elevator instead so at least we could pay for a one way ride for some politicians and supreme court judges when it was complete.
ReplyDeleteSomeone needs to start a constitutional amendment to force the secession of California.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that an independent sovereign state can voluntarily join with agreement from member states but cannot voluntarily secede assuming with agreement from member states but member states could force one to secede.
ReplyDeleteWell it should be fine. I mean... Look at the success of Amtrac
ReplyDeleteBroc
The best part about this is the argument that was used to push it through, that the state would lose billions of dollars in federal matching funds if the project were postponed. So the feds push CA into bankruptcy and then will act all surprised when they file?
ReplyDeleteWhen Jerry Brown was Governor the first time he was often referred to as the Space Cadet, but that moniker is no longer used because he is so grandly overshadowed by the legistlature. But it isn't the fault of Florida voters that California will be the first. In fact, Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment mandating the construction of a high speed rail line years ago. Of course, the proposal did not include any tax increase to fund it. More recently, they approved an amendment to mandate a reduction in school class sizes. Again, no tax increases were included.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, Florida's Governorship and legislature have been dominated recently by mean-spirited Republicans who were elected by a different set of voters and refuse to spend money they don't have. So our high-speed rail plan is still on the books though not much construction is planned in foreseeable future. Meanwhile, we've encountered a recession so state spending has had to be cut just to stay even.
Still, it's enough to make quite a few libertarians and conservatives here in Florida advocates of a very "broad constructionist" interpretation of the Florida constitution. We have to build a high-speed rail line someday. And someday we have to reduce class sizes, but tomorrow is always a day away.