House Republicans Vote to Defund Mass Transit in America
Much of the recent attack on high speed rail in California, especially by credulous government watchdog agencies like the Legislative Analyst’s Office and the State Auditor, is due to the fact that the extremist House Republican majority is rapidly anti-rail and has cut future high speed rail funding in pursuit of that agenda. For some reason, the LAO and State Auditor assume that those federal cuts are permanent and irreversible, despite evidence showing GOP control of the House may be short-lived. Their argument is that HSR is a “risk” because of uncertainty about federal funding – and from that position, some legislators in Sacramento don’t want to build HSR at all.
But will these government agencies and legislators apply the same logic to virtually every other mass transit project in California now that the House Republicans have voted for massive cuts in transit spending? Yonah Freemark at The Transport Politic explains:
The Ways and Means Committee acted to eliminate the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund, destroying public transportation’s source of steady federal financing for capital projects, first established in the 1980s. The members of the committee determined that to remedy the fact that gas taxes have not been increased since 1993,* the most appropriate course was not to raise the tax (as would make sense considering inflation, more efficient vehicles, and the negative environmental and congestion-related effects of gas consumption) but rather to transfer all of its revenues to the construction of highways. Public transit, on the other hand, would have to fight for an appropriation from the general fund, losing its traditional guarantee of funding and forcing any spending on it to be offset by reductions in other government programs.** This as the GOP has made evident its intention to reduce funding for that same general fund through a continued push for income tax reductions, even for the highest earners.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a transportation reauthorization bill on partisan lines (with the exception of one Republican who voted against it, Tom Petri of Wisconsin) that would do nothing to increase funding for transportation infrastructure in the United States over the next five years despite the fact that there is considerable demand for a large improvement in the nation’s road, rail, and transit networks just to keep them in a state of good repair, let alone expand them to meet the needs of a growing population….
The committee eliminated the Obama Administration’s trademark TIGER program, which has funded dozens of medium-scale projects throughout the country with a innovative merit-based approach. Instead, virtually all decisions on project funding would be made by state DOTs, which not unjustly have acquired a reputation as only interested in highways. Meanwhile, members couldn’t resist suggesting that only “true” high-speed rail projects (over 150 mph top speed) be financed by the government — even as they conveniently defunded the only such scheme in the country, the California High-Speed Rail program.
The House version of the Transportation Bill, where these cuts are being proposed, even eliminates the Safe Routes to School program which helps fund improvements to pedestrian infrastructure so kids are safe as they walk to and from school.
These proposed cuts are insane, and a sign of how pathologically reckless and out of touch with modern America the House Republicans are. And they jeopardize any number of projects in California, from BART extensions to BRT in the East Bay to Los Angeles’s 30/10 plan of rail expansion.
Democratic State Senators like Mark DeSaulnier, Joe Simitian and Alan Lowenthal should have been leading the charge against right-wing attacks on rail. Instead they’ve been allies of the House Republicans, working hard to validate their attacks on passenger rail by attacking high speed rail in Sacramento. Lowenthal wants to go to Congress. Now is a good time for him to show voters whether he will help the Republican attacks on transit or try to stop them.
Thing is, Lowenthal can’t have it both ways. An effective defense against Republican anti-transit attacks requires defending all forms of passenger rail, from HSR on down to light rail and streetcars. By enabling the right in their attacks on HSR, he has emboldened them to go after other transit too.
Yonah Freemark is right. It’s time to fight. And not just against the House Republicans, but against their allies in Sacramento, regardless of which party they’re in.
Amen.
FWIW, Florida’s DOT estimated their HSR project would have been profitable within a decade.
Wouldn’t a more effective defense be to just not have poorly managed rail projects in the first place?
Jonathan Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 9:37 pm
“poorly-managed” doesn’t surface in the attacks. 1,$s/poorly managed//g
Drunk Engineer Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 9:37 am
Some attack search strings to try:
Soviet-style Amtrak
100% cost blowout California HSR
Rick Scott vindicated by California HSR cost explosion
Ohio 3C Snail-Rail
Alon Levy Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Not this year, no. Scott et al don’t give a crap about effective, well-managed transit. Did you see what crap Reason (the magazine, not the foundation) had to say about Jarrett Walker’s book? Jarrett was explaining how to run coordinated network connections, and Reason made stupid quips about 45-minute connections and how what cities really need is uncoordinated private vans. To the Kochtopus as well as to the extreme right, what they dislike is definitionally not good; competence is for the eggheads to worry about.
Robert writes here:
“Democratic State Senators like Mark DeSaulnier, Joe Simitian and Alan Lowenthal should have been leading the charge against right-wing attacks on rail. Instead they’ve been allies of the House Republicans, working hard to validate their attacks on passenger rail by attacking high speed rail in Sacramento”
He cities his own article to prove his contention of their views here.
As an opponent of this project for many reasons, one would think I would be over joyed with the positions of these three key Senators, for according to Robert they are now and have been for a long time trying to kill the project.
But I am not pleased with their positions. Indeed, I don’t believe they want to kill this boondoggle.
On Jan. 11, 2012, a discussion with both Simitian and Lowenthal was televised as part of Simitian’s Capitol Focus series.
This can now be viewed on YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiJNBOKLios (7 minutes)
So here one can form their own opinion on the positions of Lowenthal and Simitian are on this issue. It certainly doesn’t appear to me that Robert’s assessment is at all correct. I only wish Robert’s assessment was correct.
As a bit of an aside, Robert also must be putting the State Auditor, the Peer Review Group and the LAO also in the camp of
” allies of the House Republicans, working hard to validate their attacks on passenger rail…. “
joe Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Political double talk. The CAHSRA opponents support transportation but not any specific project which will have flaws and critics so _nothing_ gets done.
What happens to Menlo Park when transportation funding is focused on highways cars and roads and public transportation loses core funding?
What good are alternative commute programs that offset growth when the public systems are being defunded?
joe Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
You’ll be basking in cars soon and alternative transportation is out of the trust fund and in the general fund.
Once again, I’m not too worried about that. It’s a typical right-wing nonsense move. They will all get kicked out of the House by November and the Democratic Congress will continue where it stopped in 2010. And that was a Climate Change bill which will probably include funding for projects that reduce greenhouse gases. Hint: Public mass transit.
Emma Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
Somebody please break that shit down for the GOP. How much does the average American spend on public transit in form of taxes? Isn’t it less than 1 cent per tax dollar?
Alon Levy Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Not sure what the national average is, but in Greater New York, the total amount of money that the transit agencies lose is on the order of $6 billion a year. That’s $300 per person. It’s about 2-3% of taxes. Nationally, farebox recovery ratios are much lower, but transit ridership is even lower, so the average should be lower.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 3:51 am
“It’s a typical right-wing nonsense move.”–Emma
Indeed:
“Say NO to Obama. Say NO to Socialism. Say NO to progressive D/R’s. SAY NO TO RAIL!!”
http://www.redstate.com/fpete13527/2010/10/10/floridas-high-speed-railroad-job-to-socialism/
Such horrible double-talk and hypocrisy:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_09/radical_socialist_infrastructu032010.php
Attempting to understand the “conservative” outlook–and scratching my head at some of the responses and comments, not so much for the predictable back-and-forth, but for the poor writing. Take heart, at least personally; most people here are apparently a lot smarter than average, or at least more considerate (with about three or four exceptions):
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2011/03/off_the_rails.html
D. P. Lubic Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 3:58 am
A perspective on debt that’s worth reading:
http://rwer.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/debt-toll-roads-and-patents/
VBobier Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 7:51 am
If the current Transportation Bill gets passed, It won’t matter if Repugs in the House lose their Majority or not, they’ll have set Transportation funding for the Next 5 years…
Tony d. Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 8:55 am
Im sure that could be changed post November 2012. I’m sure thinking Americans aren’t going to tolerate our nation crumbling just so that rich folk don’t have to pay slightly higher taxes. Down with the Teahadists and the far right!!
Frequently I find myself wondering about the location of the House Districts that are in GOP hands. Wikipedia has/had a good page devoted to this subject. I need to bookmark it!
StevieB Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 11:33 am
In California registered Democrats are strongest in the 20 coastal counties while registered Republicans are strongest in the 38 inland counties. According to a Field Poll there has been a significant shift in the GOP registration in the last 20 years.
wu ming Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
the field poll misses a lot by aggregating all inland areas together. many of those counties they have listed as inland have been trending democratic and DTS pretty strongly, especially in the inland empire and the central valley south of yolo county. both will be swing areas in the coming decade, and tilting democratic not long after.
the only place the GOP is treading water anymore is the foothills and north sacramento valley.
StevieB Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 12:23 pm
“The Democratic Party holds most of its power in the nation’s cities, whereas the GOP retains greater strength in the exurbs and rural areas. The two parties generally fight it out over the suburbs” according to Yonah Freemark. He deduces that this creates a Republican pol aversion to public transportation.
The slow growth of public transportation systems is producing more voters living near available public transit. Generational differences will in time increase the acceptability of public transportation as “The Greatest Generation” is replaced by the next and subsequent generations.
The opposite of progressive is regressive, so why don’t we start calling right-wing Repubs regressives. Maybe, the new moniker will catch and we can truly identify where these people want to take this nation.
VBobier Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 7:53 am
Cause it would be too confusing, Don’t hand ammo to Repugs…
joe Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 6:53 pm
They practice nihilism ( /ˈnaɪ.ɨlɪzəm/ or /ˈniː.ɨlɪzəm/; from the Latin nihil, nothing) is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life.
Although it’s tempting to think that such brazen posturing by Mica via this bill doesn’t really matter… there is reason to think that the GOP won’t hesitate to hold the entire of Department of Transportation hostage.
Last summer, the House test-drove this strategy out with the FAA and it worked to their advantage: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senate-accepts-house-bill-end-faa-shutdown/story?id=14235752#.TzFRhMVrOxU
jim Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 9:48 am
What happens if there’s no authorization? If neither reauthorization can pass the other house and the House refuses to extend the existing authorization once more? There’s an appropriation in place through the end of the fiscal year. Gas taxes presumably couldn’t be collected. States would not be able to sign multi-year contracts for transportation. But I’m not sure that there’s any shutdown.
VBobier Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 10:39 am
Yeah, but this tripe of a Bill must be opposed, at all costs, until 2013 if needed.
totally off topic but hooray for prop 8 being overturned! Perhaps we should put the gays in charge of ca high speed rail. It may not run on time but the trip will be fabulous.
Alon Levy Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
Today the 9th Circuit, tomorrow an overturning on a technicality by the Supreme Court (see also Newdow v. Congress).
Am I the only person who thinks it’s ironic that California’s HSR plan needs about $100 billion and our very own Apple Corp has just that amount of cash stuck in its piggy bank? Call it California ispeed rail if you have to!
James Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 12:17 pm
No you are not the only person.
From this ‘Fact Book’
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html
…you find that Apple’s stash of cash equals the GDP of the bottom 60 countries listed.
It also approximately equals the GDP of countries like Tunisia, Bulgaria, or Sudan.
And happens to be about 1% of the GDP of China, to which Apple contributes as little as they can (i.e. low cost production).
Meanwhile I hear that Apple keeps that cash off-shore and out of reach of the IRS. So if things take a turn and China attacks Taiwan (or some similar disturbance like North Korea pummels Seol) and Apple’s off-shore production is impacted, they will certainly want the US military to hustle on over there and get it sorted out. But they do not want to bring back the cash here to pay taxes to pay for the cost of the military protection of which they enjoy in peaceful Cupertino.
Similarly, walking distance from where I work Facebook is about to launch an IPO which is rumored to be similarly close to $100B. Google is down the road and also is worth many $B. Also HP and Intel and Ebay and Oracle and many more are in the neighborhood. You start to see why houses go for over $1M in Palo Alto. The same houses that originally sold for $10K 60 years ago.
VBobier Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
How about these Companies that work in California get naming rights for ROW segments in their Corporate name(s) in exchange for a few Billion Dollars each?
Miles Bader Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
Even better, at least with companies like Apple, let them build the stations… they can make it as iconic as they like, which would add much more value to having their name associated with it, and they’d probably do a better job of it anyway…
Emma Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 6:49 pm
An Apple or a Google station would probably also be a possibility for these companies to show off state-of-the-art products and services not to mention the advertisement that comes with this. Most people would probably even take HSR just to see the iconic stations.
jimsf Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 7:13 pm
I can see a Google Station or AppleStation in Silicon Valley. apple should also design the ticketing system and on board amenities.
Apple should just redesign the whole planet. Things would be much simpler and better looking.
Miles Bader Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 7:42 pm
hmm, Apple should design the TVM UI, but definitely not the ticketing system in general—they’d never, ever, allow interoperability with other agencies…
swing hanger Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 8:08 pm
Ha! Good one there.
jimsf Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 8:20 pm
all the agencies already use different ticketing systems anyway though.
Miles Bader Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
… and that needs to change.
jimsf Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Its helpful in a region like the bay area, to have say, clipper, for people who commute using a combination of agencies. But not many people are commuting on both metrolink and caltrain or ac transit during their workweek. So its kind of unnecessary.
Emma Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Totally agree. I really wish Google, Apple and some other big tech companies would jump in and invest in this. They sitting on that money. Why not invest it and get profit in return?
Drunk Engineer Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 6:54 pm
Um, because they have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders?
Banana Republics sell naming rights to stations.
What does the corporate culture have to do with the common good?
Given the major asshole that was Steve Jobs, Apple would a good bad example.
So how did they start? With a no Bid gift to Apple.
I grew up in Chicago proper and rode the CTA to school. It’s a disgrace.
Off topic, but news from Monday shows the true agenda of the right wing tea party pols. Here in Florida my hometown paper (Tampa Tribune) had to request via freedom of information requests to the state of FL the final financial study of the proposed FL HSR project. Here is a link to it:
http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/feb/06/high-speed-rail-would-have-been-profitable-state-r-ar-355492/
it is disgusting how republicans will destroy any attempt to move forward in this country with transportation, yet look the other way when it comes to highways, big oil and related industries. hopefully here in FL, Gov Scott will be a one term governor and we can get back to normal here. it seems like CA has alot of the same politicians as we have here…. good luck with your HSR!
swing hanger Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 9:54 pm
There are groups so visceral in their politics (an outgrowth of their basic fear of change) that even if a company paid all costs of building an HSR system and agreed to cover all operating deficits (if any) for 10 or even 15 years, they would refuse the offer. They are afraid it would succeed.