The Rip Off
We have been asked by one of our Friends to publish the following post:
Now that our Legislature has passed the obscene Gas Tax, the usual liberal Democrat suspects have popped up to add their voices in high hosanna to the deed. Their script, as usual, is the old, tired mantra of affiliating more taxes with good government, as if the two things had more than a distant correlation. Generalities are the stock-in-trade of this crew. It’s too bad the opponents also tend to speak in generalities about the existing waste in government transportation planning and execution.
I’m going to talk about waste in government, too. But I am going to do it with specifics in near-future posts that will closely examine a “transportation” project that was planned entirely with earmarked transportation funds to demonstrate the crazy, almost obscene ways in which these funds were budgeted, and are being spent.
Does a single project represent a current state of affairs? Given the fact that the State and County governments are always “educating” us about their strict compliance with rules and regulations, and given the fact that the County Measure M extension, for instance, was sold with the idea of a rigorous auditing process complete with Oversight Committee, I am going to posit an affirmative answer to my question and challenge someone to prove me wrong. This should be easy if indeed I am wrong.
So what’s the project? Is it some distant, unknown pork boondoggle in some liberal, urban bastion? Ah, no. It is the ridiculously conceived, horrendously over budgeted and overstaffed, and seemingly bungled-out-of-the-gate elevator addition project at Fullerton’s own train station.
Fullerton Engineer
Yes, let’s use this as a case study. It’s already giving off a rank odor.
Speaking of mantras, don’t forget the “it will create jobs” hymn – Davis Bacon jobs that jack up the cost of public works labor by 35% or more.
Don’t leave us hanging. What’s wrong with the bridge?
“Fullerton Engineer”
Maybe there is finally someone who can explain why this costs so much.
Progress is moving g very slow
There is absolutely nothing being done there. Maybe the holidays are holding up progress…all that has been done is a few fences, a small piece of brick wall broken down, and it looks like the pavement may have been jack hammered. (And this is the view from behind the comic store.) With the celebrated SCRPA Railroad Days coming up in less than a month…one can only imagine the urgency, which is apparently not being represented.
The project is obviously delayed. Which begs the question, why.
I’ll be addressing the piecemeal approach to this entire fiasco in another post, and ask (rhetorically) why the contract was awarded TWO YEARS AGO IF IT WASN’T READY TO START.