California is already deeply in debt, has the nation’s highest unemployment rate, the nation’s highest poverty rate, and the nation’s highest taxes. Despite all this, California Gov. Jerry Brown is set to sell $8.6 billion in bonds this year to begin paying for a $68 billion high-speed rail project. How does Brown plan to come up with the other $60 or so billion? He has no clue.
Even better, a majority of Californians have turned against the project. A new Public Policy Institute of California poll found that 54 percent of California likely voters now oppose building the high-speed rail system. Among all adults, 50 percent now oppose the high-speed rail plan and just 48 percent support it.
How can Brown get away with going deeper in debt to fund a project that a majority of voters don’t want? Simple: the Democratic Party completely controls California and a majority of Democrats, 57 percent, still support the project.
