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A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

nytimes.com

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Re: A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

#11

Post by davidf18 »

projectramo wrote: post #9
davidf18 wrote: post #3

Money if fungible. California spends an enormous amount of money on illegal aliens (illegal immigrants). For example, there was an NYT op-ed piece which explained that 200 illegal aliens are allowed to attend at in-state tuition UC Berkeley. Thus, the Federal Funds noted in this article were in fact being used to fund people who are residing in this country illegally. We don't even have enough money for the poor who…

You know California is a net contributor to the federal government, right? By your argument, California could easily afford to pay for it if only Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Montana, and Kentucky were not "mooching" off of it.

> "By your argument, California could easily afford to pay for it if only Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Montana, and Kentucky were not "mooching" off of it."

Not if the funds are paying for people living in these states legally.. Surely you see the distinction between funding people legally living in the US and those living here illegally.

What I know is that if California elected responsible politicians that used tax money for Californians and not for people living in the state and country illegally they wouldn't need the federal money.

Get rid of your politicians and elect responsible ones and stop whining.

Re: A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

#12

Post by iagooar »

davidf18 wrote: post #3

Money if fungible. California spends an enormous amount of money on illegal aliens (illegal immigrants). For example, there was an NYT op-ed piece which explained that 200 illegal aliens are allowed to attend at in-state tuition UC Berkeley. Thus, the Federal Funds noted in this article were in fact being used to fund people who are residing in this country illegally. We don't even have enough money for the poor who…

Words can't express how sad I feel about people who write and believe in such a logic. Where is our humanity gone?

How can you think that by helping people (legal or not) you are doing something wrong? USA is a country that has a massive problem with not accepting what it is, what it has, and what it could have. But then again, a country is made of diverse people. I feel happy that some people in California feel that they need to help and support those who are most vulnerable and mistreated by the system.

The poor living legally in your country ARE NOT competing for resources with "illegal aliens" you call them (I find it absurd to even consider a person, a HUMAN BEING, to be illegal, but that's a different topic). Your country has way more resources available than those dedicated to eradicating poverty.

Re: A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

#13

Post by jedberg »

davidf18 wrote: post #3

Money if fungible. California spends an enormous amount of money on illegal aliens (illegal immigrants). For example, there was an NYT op-ed piece which explained that 200 illegal aliens are allowed to attend at in-state tuition UC Berkeley. Thus, the Federal Funds noted in this article were in fact being used to fund people who are residing in this country illegally. We don't even have enough money for the poor who…

Holding transit money hostage to punish the state for other transgressions is petty and authoritarian. Instead, step up enforcement of the immigration issue and keep the train issue separate.

And before you scream, "sanctuary state!", either decide immigration is a state issue or not, but don't say it's a federal issue and then rely on states to enforce it. That's a pretty typical MO for the federal government -- demand that the states enforce things that cost money but don't actually provide money for it.

Re: A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

#14

Post by gumby »

ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #4

They should've started high speed rail in the bookends, since any construction there would have immediate benefits for hundreds of thousands of riders, and instill public confidence in the project. That would've helped Caltrain electrification right there.

Well the Caltrain electrification is in one of the book ends.

The logic for starting in the middle is that it created economic assistance (as a side effect) in an area with a jobs problem. Why not start that part sooner rather than later?

Re: A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

#15

Post by JumpCrisscross »

davidf18 wrote: post #3

Money if fungible. California spends an enormous amount of money on illegal aliens (illegal immigrants). For example, there was an NYT op-ed piece which explained that 200 illegal aliens are allowed to attend at in-state tuition UC Berkeley. Thus, the Federal Funds noted in this article were in fact being used to fund people who are residing in this country illegally. We don't even have enough money for the poor who…

> California spends an enormous amount of money on illegal aliens

Do you have a source on how much this is in aggregate, preferably both in gross (total) and net (minus the value of undocumented migrants'/illegal aliens' economic input to the California economy) terms? I'm just sceptical that this--versus so many other categories of frivolous state spending--is the lowest-hanging fruit.

Re: A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

#16

Post by davidf18 »

davidf18 wrote: post #11
projectramo wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know California is a net contributor to the federal government, right? By your argument, California could easily afford to pay for it if only Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Montana, and Kentucky were not "mooching" off of it.

> "By your argument, California could easily afford to pay for it if only Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Montana, and Kentucky were not "mooching" off of it." Not if the funds are paying for people living in these states legally. . Surely you see the distinction between funding people legally living in the US and those living here illegally. What I know is that if California elected responsible politicians that u…

Instead of down voting, please state why you want to fund people who are living in the US illegally instead of funding a train for people who are here legally.

Re: A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

#17

Post by 1_2__3 »

davidf18 wrote: post #3

Money if fungible. California spends an enormous amount of money on illegal aliens (illegal immigrants). For example, there was an NYT op-ed piece which explained that 200 illegal aliens are allowed to attend at in-state tuition UC Berkeley. Thus, the Federal Funds noted in this article were in fact being used to fund people who are residing in this country illegally. We don't even have enough money for the poor who…

> We don't even have enough money for the poor who live in this country legally.

And I'm sure you're a big proponent of changing that, huh.

Re: A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

#18

Post by pvg »

davidf18 wrote: post #10
davidf18 wrote: post #3

Money if fungible. California spends an enormous amount of money on illegal aliens (illegal immigrants). For example, there was an NYT op-ed piece which explained that 200 illegal aliens are allowed to attend at in-state tuition UC Berkeley. Thus, the Federal Funds noted in this article were in fact being used to fund people who are residing in this country illegally. We don't even have enough money for the poor who…

People are down voting, the but the assessment is a correct one: California citizens need to elect responsible politicians that spend money on people who live in the the US and CA legally instead of those illegally. If they elected responsible politicians that understood this, they would have their train funded. Taxes should be only spent on people living in the US legally. Not certain why people have a problem with…

They're much more likely downvoting you for trying to hijack the thread with an unrelated political topic/flamefest and then complaining about getting downvoted.

Re: A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

#19

Post by jedberg »

ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #4

They should've started high speed rail in the bookends, since any construction there would have immediate benefits for hundreds of thousands of riders, and instill public confidence in the project. That would've helped Caltrain electrification right there.

Yup. The train is a huge boondoggle, mostly because they are building it backwards. Building the middle part where no one lives is easier and will make a lot of jobs in a lot of poor areas, but then it is just a secret welfare program, not a useful piece of infrastructure. Let's just provide welfare if that's the goal, and then build some useful infrastructure like electrified tracks in the Bay Area and bullet train to Stockton that people might actually ride and then use those fares to pay for the rest of the train.

Re: A Silicon Valley Train Gets Stuck

#20

Post by gumby »

davidf18 wrote: post #11
projectramo wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know California is a net contributor to the federal government, right? By your argument, California could easily afford to pay for it if only Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Montana, and Kentucky were not "mooching" off of it.

> "By your argument, California could easily afford to pay for it if only Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Montana, and Kentucky were not "mooching" off of it." Not if the funds are paying for people living in these states legally. . Surely you see the distinction between funding people legally living in the US and those living here illegally. What I know is that if California elected responsible politicians that u…

Man, you really are upset with the idea of people living in California "illegally". Have you ever speeded and gotten away with it? Does that mean you also live in California "illegally" as that would make you also a scofflaw?
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