Why do we need DOGE (the Department Of Government Efficiency)?
There are countless answers to this question. But the “progress” of the high-speed train project that is supposed to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco brings it home so clearly, it is more than worthy of being my featured example.
And since Bill Glahn’s short post at powerlineblog.com explains why so well, I am posting every word of it below (the bold print is mine):
Train to nowhere
The headline was encouraging from Bloomberg,
Trump Says California’s High-Speed Train to Lose Federal Funding.
Bloomberg continues,
The California High-Speed Rail Authority in 2008 said the high-speed rail line would cost $33 billion and begin service by 2020. So far, only about 119 miles of the planned 776-mile railroad have commenced construction, and the estimated costs have soared to as much as $128 billion.
The line is supposed to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It will never make it that far. To date, the only segment even being attempted is Merced to Fresno.
The rail authority wasn’t taking this lying down. They responded today on Twitter (X),
California High-Speed Rail: Real Progress, Real Jobs, Real Results
50+ major structures complete, 15,000+ good-paying jobs created. The largest clean energy transportation project in the nation. California is proving that we can still build big things in America.
“Build big things?” The state appears to believe that the effort is mostly a make-work jobs program.
Bill Melugin of Fox News replied to the rail authority,
Not one piece of track has been laid.
On the other hand, “The Late Train to Merced” might have made for a great Buck Owens song.
This beyond-belief boondoggle is just one of the countless wastes of money that have been foisted on us around the country. Donald Trump is the only President I am aware of who is serious about stopping it. And the DOGE is the only way he can seriously address it.
DOGE, anyone?
