… what one needs, one will get.
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It’s not that I like these people, but who will be next?
What’s the purpose behind diverting these funds? Are they being redirected to support the development of the rail system in California, or will they be allocated for other uses, such as military initiatives?
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I have to make a guess considering the legislation. Again, I turn to USMCA, chapter 22 re: “Designated Monopolies”. While the govt withdrew the funds, they might again contribute a smaller amount. I can’t remember the percentage offhand of the allowable govt limit of contribution to what is to ultimately be a private venture, but this could be why govt made this move. If it’s too much money, by law, it could blow up in their faces later. This is my guess, and only a guess. In short, govt wants the monopolies to own and maintain everything while govt. designates their use, etc. It’s the only way govt can get away with it, by law, constitutionally.
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… we should remember that these “funds” are nothing but numbers on pages (showing my age here, excited electrons on screens) made up out of thin air. They are just putting the “numbers” on a different page under a different column heading. No “funds” can ever be “given” or “cut” because there were no “funds” to begin with. Take a second for that fact to sink in … A budget, I thought worked something like … I already have real, actual, existent representations of value and I decide how many of those to allocate to different activities. When those reach 0 I have no more ability to allocate. There are no more real representations of value … (and don’t get me started on the whole idea of representations of value) Budgets, we don’t need your stinking budgets.
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Interesting point, so the only real way to backstop the financing is by issuing credit against the future resource extraction and outbound capital flows from the region. In other words, the entire model rests on speculative leverage of potential collateral that doesn’t exist yet. That tells you everything you need to know: this is the same parasitic financial architecture straight out of Confessions of an Economic Hitman, the IMF playbook, debt colonialism dressed up in a new spreadsheet. Answering the question of “who” is behind the credit.
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It would not be so different (the private funding) to the already existing tollroad projects in Texas which are privately funded (I heard once by the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Spain…IDK). If DJT’s intent is to ‘fence’ US dollar ‘capital’ within the US and not let it go overseas projects like this could soak up lots of those trillions being paid to Treasury Bond holders (Japan, China are large holders).
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@omnimatter Simply put, "a piece of the action’, future tense, of course.
IF that is DJT’s intent. Indeed, it could.
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… from “the internet” so get out your salt lick and slurp up before reading …
As of January 2025, 119 miles (192 km) of the 171 miles (275 km) were under active construction . 22 miles (35 km) of contiguous guideway were declared complete, making that section ready for track-laying. The remainder of the 119 miles (192 km) is expected to complete their guideway by the end of 2026.
… and this
From January 2015 to December 2023, a total of $11.2 billion had been spent on the IOS – which has 119 miles (192 km) under active construction – and on upgrades to existing rail lines in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles, where Phase 1 is planned to share tracks with conventional passenger trains.
Hmmmmm … 8 years … 11.2B USD … and not a single inch of rail.
and this …
High-speed rail is the best value investment, with a cost range of $89 billion to $128 billion compared to the cost range of $179 billion to $253 billion that would be necessary to construct the equivalent highway and air passenger capacity.
I’m sorry, would someone please tell me WTF we are doing … Given the descriptions it sounds as though we are paying to make it easier and more efficient for organized crime activity (drug and gun running, human trafficking, and whatever else they can think to do). Cui Bono and it wont be you and me. I’m sure this “train” experience will be just as pleasant as air travel.
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Oh, here’s another goodie. When City of Houston was allegedly taking bids for rail in Houston, the same company that built Seattle overhead bid $13M/mile. The rail would have not only served Downtown, but The Medical Center, and both Hobby and Bushy Bun airports, with major stops in between. CoH turned this down because “overhead rail might not be safe during a hurricane”… Instead, they paid $30M/mile to a company for a ground rail that is limited to Downtown and Medical Center, on streets known for severe flooding.
Yeah, it’s just my mental conundrum, right?
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And using public transportation during the summer in Houston is such a pleasant experience…
when I lived there the only folks I knew that used it were the park and ride folks that lived in the suburbs. Once or twice I used the metro train to go from downtown to meetings in the medical center. Luckily it was pleasant weather. There’s a reason the freeways rule…the automobile has air conditioning.
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I loved Park & Ride. Lived right around the corner from it, drove less than 1/2 a mile. Got on the bus, no driving worries, got dropped off right in front of the building. Would love to be able to do that where I work now!
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Buying Logo?
Or, buying local.
Or, just buying; without going loco?
“Cheap” has a cost.
Like when, the USSA elite sent factories to China - for cheap labor.
Now, whose reaping “cheap”?
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Karma is a B, and you can tell by just the sheer vibe, others are losing their fear pretty quickly.
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The title is rather misleading, as he covers the big concept(s), but I think Bustamante explains this very well.
High speed rail only makes real sense underground and I am confident that the tunnels and infrastructure is already there… just not available yet to the useless eaters tagged as corporations, thus taxed for the Fed coffers. (That is where IRS tax money actually goes- to pay off the Fed for the money owed from the 1929 bankruptcy).
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