You got to know when to fold them!

 

"By 2030, there will be new types of transportation available, and they will not include the LRT system. That entire system will shortly be a ghost of days gone by. All the money we have sunk into these losers will be nothing more than good money after bad. If you as the taxpayer feel fleeced - you should. You have been had."

There is an old saying - "Why can't the states operate like the federal government when it comes to spending money?" Short answer - states cannot "print" more money. Nor run deficits. In other words, states need to operate like the family budget does. Money going out cannot exceed money coming in. 

As most of us know, our federal government is a mess right now. Republicans and Democrats do not have a clue on how to balance a yearly budget. The whopping $34T debt we have is only the beginning of this sad tale. By 2030, a scant six years away, our national debt will be $52T. The interest to service that debt will be close to being $2T a year. But enough about the fed - back to the states.

The state of Minnesota, which is run like Tim Walz's piggy bank, would love, love, love to keep building the LRTs which only the thugs like to ride on. The Southwest Light Rail has become a classic money pit, with every quarter the budget to completion goes up, and the completion date keeps slipping out further into the future. Most of us thought this train was the whopper of all whoppers. That is, until the news this morning.

The Blue Line Extension, which would tie in Brooklyn Park to Minneapolis, is still waiting to get funding and the go ahead to be built. It is just an extension, right? Can't cost that much. Oh, but you must remember the Met Council. This is a band of idiots who don't know a Dit from a DUH! According to the morning newspaper, the cost to build this "extension" would be somewhere between $2.9B and $3.2B. 

Charlie Zelle, the chief nut in this band of morons, said building this Blue Line Extension to connect Brooklyn Park and Minneapolis would serve the underserved. It is critically important for us to do so. If you think crime on the LRT system is bad now, just wait until this Brooklyn Park line is finished. Yes, that is what I am saying. We will spend billions just for the chance to get mugged on another dirty train.

Here is the long and the short of it. Minnesota can't afford this choo-choo train. Heck, we can't even afford to finish the SWLRT line. And the deficit hawks will be back in town shortly. Asking Washington for monies to build these "most important" infrastructure improvements will be barking up the wrong tree. Sorry Charlie - ain't gonna happen.

By 2030, there will be new types of transportation available, and they will not include the LRT system. That entire system will shortly be a ghost of days gone by. All the money we have sunk into these losers will be nothing more than good money after bad. If you as the taxpayer feel fleeced - you should. You have been had.