Written by Andrew Morris
More than 17 years after the High Speed Rail system was instituted, California has little to show for the billions of dollars put into the program.
Initially, the structure would run from Bakersfield to Merced, then expand outwards to Los Angeles and San Francisco, at a cost of $10 billion. Yet now, the cost totals almost $25 billion already spent, and another $75 billion needed to complete the project.
With $25 billion in the hole, however, the only groundwork laid amounts to little more than a few concrete pillars near Fresno, even 17 years later.
These negligent actions are not uncharacteristic of the government, as the state’s online community college program Calbright is a catastrophic failure. The program has already cost more than $100 billion, but has only put 12 students completely through the school.
The huge per-student cost, in addition to the opposition by the other 115 community colleges have resulted in very little payoff considering its surmountable cost.
Whereas most private businesses have a personal stake in their services, the California state government has very little stake or care for the money they spend. Blowing several billions of dollars on projects which do more harm than good.
As of yet, it is unknown if California will stop the programs which are costing the people billions of dollars, but if something is not done soon, there will be little hope for recovery.
