Brace yourself, Bridget, the Califonia legislature is coming

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In 2008, California voters approved a $33 billion project to construct a 520 mile high-speed railway from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Three weeks ago, the project cost was announce to be $126 billion, even though the route has been shortened to 171 miles, the line itself will run only through the Central Valley, connecting Merced, Fresno, and, for Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam fans, Bakersfield, and not a single mile of rail has been laid.

Today, that $126 billion estimate was bumped up a bit, to $230 billion, and still climbing.

Off the Rails: Price of CA High Speed Rail Soars to Over $230B

California’s long-delayed high-speed rail project is now facing renewed scrutiny after state leaders revealed a dramatically higher price tag, now estimated at roughly $231 billion, nearly seven times the original $33 billion projection approved by voters in 2008.

The revised figures have reignited talks in Sacramento over whether the project can realistically be completed, how long it will take, and whether the state can continue to fund it at this scale.

I have to say this again because it's stunning: The price has jumped $105 billion since the estimate given three weeks ago. And despite that, the plan to get this finished, according to the people in charge, is to rely on private funding. 

California High-Speed Rail Authority officials say the project’s future depends on attracting private investors and focusing on a broader, more commercially viable vision, connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Who is going to be dumb enough to invest in this boondoggle?

Senator Tony Strickland sharply criticized the updated costs and timeline, pointing to what he described as a major breakdown in public trust...

“If you’re able to get private sector resources after you continue your project that was supposed to be $33 billion and turned into $231 billion I give you a lot of credit if you’re able to raise a lot of that private capital," Strickland said.

Ain’t gonna happen, but that won’t stop the legislature from further spending on the project: too many of its construction union bosses want the loot.

And, very much related …

California's Billionaire Tax Is a Giant Bait-and-Switch

When the income tax was first introduced in 1913, it was explicitly designed to apply to a small fraction of high-income earners and not the general population. The top rate, seven percent, applied to roughly two to three percent of all American households. Most Americans paid no income tax at all.

But, as we all know, that radically changed over time and now most of us have our income taxes taken directly from our paychecks.

It was the ultimate bait-and-switch, and now California Democrats have looked at what the federal government did and said, "Hold our beer."

Turns out the so-called "Billionaire Tax," which would impose a five percent tax on billionaires' assets or net worth, and not just their income, has a backdoor provision that will allow Democrats to tax everyone without an additional vote on the matter.

Better still, here’s, possibly — probably? — California’s next governor: