Those wacky ballot initiatives

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Those wacky ballot initiatives

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 | Misc |

Massachusetts voters passed a measure to decriminalize possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.

The ballot to name a San Francisco sewage treatment plant after George Bush failed 70-30.

Citizens of my hometown politely declined to pay a higher sales tax.

California had a whole slew of initiatives. The one that caught my eye is the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act. That’s the wildly optimistic bullet train I blogged about a few weeks ago. From the ballot description (emphasis mine):

State costs of about $19.4 billion, assuming 30 years to pay off both principal ($9.95 billion) and interest ($9.5 billion) costs of the bonds. Payments of about $647 million per year.

When constructed, additional unknown costs, probably in excess of $1 billion a year, to operate and maintain a high-speed train system. The costs would be at least partially, and potentially fully, offset by passenger fare revenues, depending on ridership.

And how likely is that last point to actually come true? Take it away, P.J.:

The Heritage Foundation says, “There isn’t a single light rail transit system in America in which fares paid by the passengers cover the cost of their own rides.” Heritage cites the Minneapolis “Hiawatha” light rail line, soon to be completed with $107 million from the transportation bill. Heritage estimates that the total expense for each ride on the Hiawatha will be $19. Commuting to work will cost $8,550 a year. If the commuter is earning minimum wage, this leaves about $1,000 a year for food, shelter and clothing. Or, if the city picks up the tab, it could have leased a BMW X-5 SUV for the commuter at about the same price.

Patterico’s showing the proposition winning 52% to 48% with 92% of precincts reporting. I’m amazed the California voters went for this boondoggle. California can’t balance its budget. People are fleeing the state to escape high taxes. The real estate market there is crashing worse than almost anywhere in the country. And now they’re committing to $1.5 billion per year for passenger rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Crazy.

Tags: california