"I killed that Tunnel to Somewhere"
"I killed that Tunnel to Somewhere"
In debating Freudian psychology, there's an old saying that sometimes a train going into a tunnel is simply just a train going into a tunnel. But sometimes there really is a lot more going on. Just ask New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who's been in the news a lot this week, both as the new darling of the Tea Party going into the 2012 presidential hoedown and for his imperial -- and now under further review, as they say in the NFL -- decision to spike an $8.7 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River that would greatly improve the speed and flow of mass transit from New Jersey (and beyond) into Manhattan.
If Christie's decision ultimately stands, the practical implications -- the state would be out an estimated $3 billion in federal dollars for the rail tunnel, a project that's already consumed $478 million -- pale in comparison to the economic impact of an estimated 6,000 lost construction related jobs in the short-term, and dooming the nation's largest metropolis to a less-than-world-class mass transit system in the long run.
But politically, you have to agree that -- even if you oppose Christie's actions -- he'd done the American voter a huge favor going into the 2010 mid-term elections. The New Jersey governor is showing the world what a Tea Party inspired government will look like in 2011 and beyond.
The irony is staggering.
For a movement that claims to be rooted in American exceptionalism, and the notion that the United States is fated to play a role on the world stage not just as a great nation but as the sole superpower, Christie's premature withdrawal from the tunnel is an admission of impotence (sorry Sigmund, I couldn't help myself) -- the polar opposite of the display of strength his supporters delusionally see. And this, I fear, will be the broader legacy of "the Party of No" if the anti-Obama backlash sweeps Christie's GOP back into power. This retrenchment -- in the city that once had the swagger to build the George Washington Bridge and, yes, the World Trade Center -- is a metaphor for a nation now fighting openly to become second-rate.
Other nations - China, most obviously -- are displaying the bravado in the 21st Century that America used to show off in the 20th Century. The fast-growing economy is not only spending $300 billion on what will be the world's top network of high-speed rail but exporting their technology to other nations. That's one symbol of a coming era of misplaced priorities that will doom everything from infrastructure to alternative energy to education and maybe health care if a GOP Congress gets its way.
There's more I could say, but Bob Herbert in the New York Times said it better over the weekend:
We can’t put the population to work, or get the kids through college, or raise the living standards of the middle class and the poor. We can’t rebuild the infrastructure or curb our destructive overreliance on fossil fuels.
There have been many times when the U.S. has stunned the world with the breadth and greatness of its achievements — the Marshall Plan, the G.I. Bill, the world’s highest standard of living, the world’s finest higher education system, the space program, and on and on.
Somewhere, somehow, things went haywire. The nation that built the Erie Canal and Hoover Dam and the transcontinental railroad can’t even build a tunnel beneath the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York.
Unless people wake up in the next few weeks. I'm not optimistic.
Comment removed.
So losing billions of dollars while reducing tax revenue is the way to fix it? This is the biggest issue I have with tea party supporters. They complain that the government isn't solving the problem but want to install a government that can't accomplish anything.— HandNik- What do you propose to solve NJ's fiscal problems will? Raise property taxes? Should the fiscal problems simply be ignored?— E Plebnista
- SBVFT Contributor:
Do you know what return on investment is? And who put Jersey's fiscal house in disarray? People like Whitman. That's right, I forgot. She's a RINO in your eyes so she doesn't count.— Calvin Jones & the 13th Apostle - E Plebnista:
No, but when you can borrow money at such cheap rates now, and with infrastructure in such a crappy state, you do it. If you want to "Go Galt," be my guest. But I noticed you never complained about the debt when W. was President or Whitman was Governor of New Jersey. Besides, we were deeper in debt during WWII, and we survived just fine.— Calvin Jones & the 13th Apostle - "But I noticed you never complained about the debt when W. was President or Whitman was Governor of New Jersey."....You mean before unemployment was stuck at 10%, before the stimulus package, before government run health care, before the mortgage crisis?— E Plebnista
E Plebnista: We don't have government-run health care; I wish we did. However, the issue at hand is the tunnel. When I was in publishing, the biggest mistake that the publishers made was to put all their resources into giant books in hopes of showing their stockholders a good quarter, while abandoning the backlist items that had made them successful in the past. Ignoring the infrastructure is the same kind of misdirection--hope for a short-term success (so that you will be re-elected) instead of investing in a long-term future (so that the nation will thrive). I am very unhappy to watch America slide into second-class. I was with a few other folks who were born before the mid-twentieth century the other day and we all agreed that we were lucky to have lived during the time America was still exceptional and great. We did not think our children will be so lucky, especially if there is a long-term trend toward ignoring the infrastructure, the environment, and the education of our children.- Yes, Archimedes,the issue is the tunnel, and how to pay for it while the financial infrastructure of a state is crumbling along with the infrastructure you speak of. Its a matter of priorities. Fix one, then fix the other. Nobody said it will never be built.— E Plebnista
- Comment removed.
- E Plebnista, I respectfully disagree. If we wait until the economy recovers and build it then, we will pay more for labor and materials, because in an expanding economy they will cost much more than in a contracting one like we have now. And yes, an annual growth rate less than 2% is effectively contracting. We build it now with less expensive labor and materials, and we pay for it with bonds that are due in 20 years and can be sold for as little as 3% interest now. We put 6000 people to work immediately and they have wages to pay taxes so the state revenue goes up. we also have spin off jobs for people who will make the materials that are used to build the tunnel and also people to sell groceries and cars to the workers who will have money to buy things. You are up to 12,000 to 15,000 jobs and new taxpayers. If the economy grows at 4% annual rate, a reasonable estimate based on past performance, then in 2030 the economy of New Jersey will be will be almost 4 times what it is now, while the bonds will cost twice as much as they do now to pay off. The net effect is that building it now will cost less, boost the economy of New Jersey, increase the state's tax revenue without a tax increase, and be easier to pay off than if we try to save up to pay cash for the tunnel. This is simple economics 101.— parodox
The thing that most clearly shows the current weakness of this country is that nobody seems to be able, or even interested in a balanced budget. Governor Christie must be the most poplar politician with the Tea Party because of his extreme Christianity, since we've been lectured over and over by the hygiene-challenged leftists that the Tea Party is primarily interested in abortion and homosexual politics, not interested in fiscal responsibility.— Mr. Smith- I'm sure we can build that tunnel in Afghanistan!!— distant.star
"...showing the world what a Tea Party inspired government will look like in 2011 and beyond." Yeah, not spending money on things we can't afford. Scary man, scary.— jmc- I don't think you can see this decision as a sign of weakness. Weakness is throwing money at problems instead of facing hard choices. Weakness is spending beyond your means, and acting like your actually doing something. It takes vision and discipline to see that New Jersey can't afford the tunnel, and neither can the federal government. Christie isn't going to talk fiscal responsibility then act like federal dollars don't come from the same source as state dollars.— jmc
- Comment removed.
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