Letters: What private investor would put money into high-speed rail?

"It's delusional in the extreme to think that investors, even in magical-thinking Silicon Valley, would be willing to put money into a project with absolutely no possibility of being profitable. Public projects are for public benefit, not profits. The central question respecting the high-speed rail now is whether, short of making all the money in the world available to build it, it can be built at all in the current century."

"State Republicans are railing against Gov. Newsom and Proposition 50, including asking the California Supreme Court to remove the redistricting initiative from the November ballot, arguing Democrats violated the law when they rushed the measure through to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm election. Yet can anybody name me two Republican lawmakers who have condemned Donald Trump for initiating this fiasco in Texas? How about one lawmaker? I will wait."

Private investors will not fund a high-speed rail project that has no prospect of profitability, since public projects serve public benefit rather than profits. The feasibility of completing the high-speed rail within this century remains doubtful without unlimited funding. State Republicans criticize Gov. Newsom and Proposition 50 while failing to condemn actions that sparked the Texas redistricting fiasco. Major donors question tactics used in California but are urged to address similar partisan maneuvers elsewhere. Gerrymandering is characterized as a severe problem, and some argue extraordinary measures are justified to protect the broader democratic system.

Read at The Mercury News