Do you smell what Barack is cooking? President Obama will arrive in Tampa today and announce Florida has won more than $1.25 billion in funding for high-speed rail. Does this confuse you as much as it does me?? In an economy with busted Medicare, struggling post offices, schools closing, and the list goes on and on. Maybe we could increase our teachers pay by 10% with that $1.5Billion, that would be good. Supporters are projecting that this project, which will begin with a first phase from Tampa to Orlando, will be completed by 2015 and add 23,000 temporary jobs and 600 additional permanent jobs once up and running over a 4 year period. Come again? Now of course I am aware of the unemployment rate in our great state(11.8% ouch) and I am by no means proud of it but on the surface this just doesn't pass the sniff test. Did Amtrak make money? Who will be building this rail government contractors receiving no bid contracts?
It takes about an hour to get to Orlando from Tampa via I-4. Now, If there was a bullet train taking the same route with a 45 mins transit time what do the passengers do once they reach the destination?? Pay for a cab? Once you get to the station, take the train ride over, then find transit to your destination are you really saving time? Are you really saving money? Speaking of Money, because this is what its all about, where did we get the $1.5 billion earmarked for this project??? Is the Fed Reserve printing money again and lending it to our Government at interest?? Are we borrowing from China? Are the tax payers aware that this project will cost closer to $3.5-4Billion? Where do you think the additional funding will come from? Disney? Nope.....Our pockets. Remember the promises made for toll roads? The money generated was to be used to maintain the roads and other various broken promises. Why are these toll roads now being sold to foreign investors that don't even live on American soil.
I am forever the optimist and I have traveled around our country and abroad. There are many successful "inner city" rail systems to speak of. But why would you build an "intra-city" train first? The rail in New York is very easy, the Marta in Atlanta very easy, the Tube in London is very easy, the rail in Paris well not so easy but the point here being I just don't see the daily use here being as convenient as other cities. We still need to look at light rail and inner city mass transit. We are far behind the rest of the world. But a train from Tampa to Orlando? I must be missing something. Aren't there sink holes? Maybe the President will shine some light on it for me today. If it is as convoluted as last night's State of the union we maybe in trouble.
I realize this is just the beginning and its irresponsible to not think of future generations. Reducing our dependency on "Big Oil" is a good thing. We will be long gone once this is fully rolled out state wide. Heck the country's interstate system was looked at as a pipe dream when Eisenhower asked for the funding for it. It seems to have worked out ok! But is it responsible to leave more of a debt for our grandchildren to deal with. I'm open, just give us a plan that is in the best interest of our community and not lining the pockets of Special interests groups.
Marcus Martin
"Your Vacant Home Rescuer"
Showhomes-St.Petersburg
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