High-speed rail isn't California's only expensive boondoggle
By Michael Feuz
Published July 25, 2025
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing the Trump administration for pulling back $4 billion in federal funding for high-speed rail. But President Donald Trump hasn't actually derailed any trains. And all the lawsuit has really done is expose the trainwreck that is California's fiscal situation.
For months, Newsom has bragged about California having the world's fourth-largest economy and sending back more money to Washington than it takes in. He's right, but he's also conveniently ignoring that California also boasts the nation's highest real poverty rate and a projected budget deficit as high as $20 billion.
That just scratches the surface of the fiscal mess Californians deal with every day – not just in Sacramento, but at every level of government.
Let's start with the high-speed rail project. Voters approved it in 2008 to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles at an approximate cost of $40 billion with a completion date of 2033. As of June of this year, the projected cost was as high as $128 billion with no track laid.
CALIFORNIA'S GREEN NEW SCAM COULD COST YOU $20,000
Los Angeles residents know this kind of bureaucratic ineptitude all too well. Complex and sometimes conflicting county and state environmental regulations played an important role in the closure of the county's second-largest landfill, Chiquita Canyon, at the end of 2024.
Residents now have to fund the added expense of hauling trash to a landfill farther away while local politicians obsess over "price-gouging" by those who haul and handle residents' garbage. Taxpayers are burdened enough with the political junk Sacramento sends their way; local officials would be a lot more useful if they reduced, instead of added, to the heap.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, can't seem to provide essential services at any price, gouged or otherwise. Check out all of the fire hydrants that didn't work during the recent fires and the empty city-run reservoir nearby. Anyone who oversaw those failures and still has a job is gouging taxpayers with every paycheck.
Paying for incompetence is bad enough, but what about corruption? That's what taxpayers across the state have funded for years as officials in state, county and city governments have colluded in a Medicaid reimbursement scheme by allowing government-owned providers to charge as much as 13 times more for certain services than the private sector is allowed to charge.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
Not only has this practice squeezed private providers, thereby limiting care options for non-Medicaid patients, but it has allowed California to paper over its unfunded pension obligations for government employees by pocketing the difference.
And those obligations will come due faster than policymakers prefer as the nation's highest cost-of-living and top marginal tax rates continue to drive taxpayers and businesses out of the state.
"Businesses that want to grow and parents who want to provide for their families have been moving out of California for a decade, especially to states like Texas and Florida that have no or minimal income taxes," said Vance Ginn, Ph.D., chief economist for the Office of Management and Budget during the first Trump administration. "And that trend isn't likely to reverse itself because lawmakers and regulators up and down the state keep spending more and regulating and taxing themselves out of residents."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Cleaning up California's fiscal mess will take a lot more than creative accounting tricks, piecemealing federal funding grants and soaking the taxpayers – like the one-time windfall of capital gains taxes that created the temporary surplus in 2022. It requires reining in out-of-control spending while also reducing the regulatory burden on residents and businesses.
That's why Newsom's lawsuit over the train funds isn't about infrastructure. It's about image. His flip on gender identity issues and sudden support for reducing California's atrocious housing regulations were sops to "the middle," but he also wants to make the Left happy by showing he can stand up to Trump. At federal taxpayer expense, of course, all the while claiming that he's keeping California "innovative" while basic governance collapses underneath.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM MICHAEL FEUZ Print Close
URL
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/high-speed-rail-isnt-californias-only-expensive-boondoggle
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kern lawmakers not on board with Newsom's redistricting fight
Kern County's local lawmakers universally condemned proposals from Gov. Gavin Newsom to redraw the state's congressional district, but were mostly quiet about efforts by other states to do the same thing. The offices of each of Kern County's six lawmakers in the state Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives did not respond to The Californian's specific questions on the matter, but did give a statement on the plans in California largely defending the state's independent redistricting committee. "No political party should manipulate redistricting for their own gain. California voters have made it clear: Politicians shouldn't draw their own maps," Assemblyman Stan Ellis, R-Bakersfield, said in an email. "Gov. Newsom's efforts to skew the lines for more seats undermine democracy. We must prioritize the will of the people over partisan politics and uphold fair representation," he said. Yet a defense of democracy is precisely what Newsom and his supporters say California is trying to do. "He knows he's going to lose in the midterms, and we have the opportunity to de-facto end the Trump presidency in less than 18 months," Newsom told reporters on Aug. 4. "That's what's at stake. That's why we're putting a stake in the ground. We're not drawing lines just to draw lines; we're holding the line on democracy." Newsom was referring to efforts by the state of Texas to potentially redraw four of its Congressional districts. Current plans from Republican lawmakers in that state could potentially add five Republicans to the already narrowly divided U.S. House. Texas Democrats have fled the state in an effort to stall the process. Several governors — Democrats in Illinois and New York, Republicans in Ohio and Missouri — have indicated their willingness to enlist their state in a gerrymandering arms race if other states do the same. Newsom has met with state legislative leaders and suggested holding a special session on the matter. But Kern County's state lawmakers from both parties said they're not interested. "The governor's efforts to gerrymander Congressional districts is pure politics and voters will see it for what it is — an end run around the state's voter approved redistricting commission," state Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, said in a statement. "I support Congressman Kevin Kiley's efforts to pass a federal law prohibiting changes to congressional district lines as the best solution to this partisan mess being created," she said. Kiley, a Placer County Republican, has proposed legislation that would prevent any new state maps from taking effect before 2030. Kern County's Democratic state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, did not respond to request for comment. Delano Assembly member Dr. Jasmeet Bains called efforts in Texas "an affront to democracy" and said she opposed any effort to circumvent independent redistricting. "(Texas') gerrymandered maps are an electoral fraud. I will not sit by and watch two political parties destroy the concept of fair elections," Bains said in an email. "This has become a race to the bottom where an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. We don't need more ways for politicians to rig the system." Bains also called for courts to intervene. But that's not likely to happen, according to UCLA law professor Richard Hansen. "In 2019 the (U.S.) Supreme Court in the Rucho case held that federal courts would not intervene against partisan gerrymandering," Hansen said in an email. That decision — decided in a 5-4 split between the courts conservative and liberal justices — found the court had no 'judicially manageable standard' for determining at what point a partisan gerrymander becomes unconstitutional. The issue is particularly complex for Bains, who recently announced she was running for California's 22nd Congressional District, meaning she would be voting to redraw the very districts she's looking to win. The Associated Press reported Monday one of the proposals currently being considered in California includes the 22nd as one of the districts that would see right-leaning voters shaved and Democratic voters boosted, a shift that would make it likely a left-leaning candidate would prevail in each race. The district is currently held by U.S. Rep. David Valadao, one of California's nine Congressional Republicans. Even before the redistricting issue, the 22nd was seen as one of the most competitive in the nation with candidates able to pull in millions of dollars from outside donors. In an email, Valadao's campaign strategist Robert Jones defended the state's independent redistricting commission. "California voters made it clear in 2008 that they wanted an independent commission, not partisan politicians like Jasmeet Bains, drawing their own districts for their own personal gain," Jones said. "That's corruption of the highest order." Bains' role in the potential redistricting quickly became fodder for Republican campaigners. In a statement Wednesday morning, regional spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee Christian Martinez accused Bains of supporting Newsom's redistricting plans. Martinez acknowledged in a text to The Californian he had not seen a statement from Bains regarding the issue. On Thursday, after Bains made statement condemning the governor's plan, Martinez released a new statement calling on Bains to recuse herself from the process. Kern County's other congressional Republican, Vince Fong, said partisan gerrymandering was precisely what Californians voted against when they overwhelmingly supported the creation of the independent redistricting commission. "Newsom, flanked by Texas Democrats, announced that he stands ready to take power away from the Citizens Commission and place it back into the hands of Sacramento politicians to further his left-wing political agenda," Fong said in an email. "As a delegation we will fight any attempt to disenfranchise California voters by whatever means necessary to ensure the will of the people continues to be reflected in redistricting and in our elections." Any new electoral maps drafted by the state Legislature would have to be approved by voters in California. It's not clear whether the public would approve of the measures. Several groups have come forward calling on the state not to abandon its independent redistricting process even as other states move to boost the number of seats for a specific party. "Our feeling is that once you break that safeguard, you don't just risk the one election. You set a precedent that future politicians could use," said Helen Hutchinson, interim executive director for the League of Women Voters of California. Hutchinson said Californians worked hard to take redistricting out of the hands of politicians and completely circumvent the process was "a race to the bottom." "We really understand that urgency and we think that authoritarianism is not an abstract. It's here and it's really dangerous," Hutchinson said. "But we think the way to fight it is not to abandon one of our greatest democratic reforms here in California, the idea is to lead with ideas and policies that inspire voters, not with shortcuts that further erode public trust in the government."
an hour ago
Texas Legislature to take another swing at redistricting vote as Democrats extend their walkout
Texas Republicans will again try to convene the state Legislature Monday for a vote on redrawing congressional maps in their party's favor, an effort that already sparked a national political brawl and prompted Democratic lawmakers to leave the state to deny Republicans the quorum they need. The Republican majority is seeking to redraw five U.S. House districts at President Donald Trump's urging as he tries to avoid a replay of the 2018 midterms. Those elections installed a new Democratic majority in the U.S. House that stymied the president's agenda and twice impeached him. Now, Democratic-controlled states including California, New York and Illinois are threatening to retaliate against Texas and Trump by proposing their own redistricting, putting the nation on the brink of a tit-for-tat overhaul of congressional boundaries that are typically redrawn only once a decade. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he'll call lawmakers back to the Statehouse again and again until enough Democrats show up to reach the 100-member threshold required to vote on the bill. Democratic leaders in other states are planning out their retaliatory redistricting plans if Abbott succeeds. 'Texas, knock it off. We'll knock it off. Let's get back to governing,' said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on 'Fox News Sunday.' As for the Democratic lawmakers who bolted from Texas — some of whom have been appearing alongside the likes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker at news conferences — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the state's Supreme Court to remove some of them from office or give them a 48-hour warning to return. 'If they show back up in the state of Texas, they will be arrested and taken to the Capitol," said Abbott on 'Fox News Sunday.' When pressed about blue states' threats to retaliate — such as Newsom's proposal to effectiveely cut five GOP-held seats in California — Abbott argued that many had already squeezed the juice out of their gerrymandering and would be hard-pressed to push it further. Democratic leaders say Abbott's plans are nothing more than a power grab. 'They know that they're going to lose in 2026 the Congress, and so they're trying to steal seats,' Pritzker said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' Past attempts by Texas Democrats to halt votes by leaving the state were typically unsuccessful, and several of the blue states face more hurdles to redistricting than Texas does. California, for example, has an independent commission that runs redistricting after each decade's census. Changes require approval from both voters and state lawmakers, who have said they plan to call a special election in November to set the process in motion.
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
India ditches Russia for Africa's largest oil producer in major supply shake-up
India's state refineries are increasingly relying on Nigerian crude oil to satisfy their supply requirements, signaling a significant change in global energy trading patterns. Indian state refineries are increasingly sourcing crude oil from Nigeria amidst global trading shifts. By late 2025, over two million barrels of Nigerian oil are set to arrive in India. India's shift from Russian to alternative sources is influenced by political pressures, notably from the US. More than two million barrels of Nigerian oil are projected to arrive in India between September and October 2025, as political pressure from the US forces the South Asian country to reduce its imports from Russia. According to industry insiders, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) recently purchased one million barrels of Nigerian Agbami oil for September delivery through a tender awarded to the global trading firm Trafigura. The move is part of a larger buying frenzy by Indian refiners, which have obtained millions of barrels from non-Russian sources in recent weeks. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), India's second-largest state refiner, also made spot purchases while negotiating for September deliveries, as seen in the Punch. The South Asian market purchased one million barrels of Angola's Girassol, one million barrels of US Mars, three million barrels of Abu Dhabi Murban, and two million barrels of Nigerian crude for delivery in September and October. This shift comes after Indian state refiners ceased purchases of Russian crude in late July, citing a delay advocated by US President Donald Trump. Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, India has been one of the few big purchasers of cheap Russian oil, taking advantage of reduced costs while escaping the Western boycott. This policy kept Indian refiners mostly out of the spot market for other suppliers, until recently. Nigeria's acquisitions signal an increase in sales to Asia, a sector long dominated by Middle Eastern oil producers. Nigerian crude grades, recognized for their low sulfur content, are ideal for India's refineries, which generate vast amounts of gasoline and diesel for domestic and export markets. However, the development comes with a twist, which industry analysts refer to as oil trade irony. Even though Nigeria sells millions of barrels of petroleum to India, the Dangote Oil Refinery, Africa's largest refinery, located within Nigeria, is increasingly purchasing crude from the US.
