November 8, 2010 By Fausta

Back in New Jersey: Christie explains why not the tunnel

Since I’m back in New Jersey, here’s an appropriate post with which to celebrate:
Chris Christie explains to David Gregory why he decided against the tunnel; the bottom line is the bottom line

“I’m not going to sign blank checks”

Of course David Gregory considers the factual statement “the State of New Jersey is broke” a matter of ideology, as if the taxpayer is an open checkbook and anything else is in your mind.

More Christie on Meet the Press:

What they [Republicans] have to do is what they say they want, and we’re doing it in New Jersey: smaller government, less spending, less regulation, lower taxes.

TigerHawk calls Christie Governor Awesome.

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October 9, 2010 By Fausta

Say it isn’t so: N.J. Gov. Chris Christie agrees to reconsider Hudson River tunnel project? VIDEO

Under pressure from the Obama administration, Republican Gov. Chris Christie agreed Friday to rethink his decision to cancel construction of a $9 billion rail tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York City.

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie agrees to reconsider Hudson River tunnel project

day after Gov. Chris Christie axed the $8.7 billion Hudson River rail tunnel project over its soaring costs, a reprieve of sorts was granted.

Following a meeting in Trenton this afternoon with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the governor agreed to take a second look at the project.

LaHood, in a statement, said, “Governor Christie and I had a good discussion this afternoon, during which I presented a number of options for continuing the ARC tunnel project. We agreed to put together a small working group from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the office of NJ Transit Executive Director Jim Weinstein that will review these options and provide a report to Governor Christie within two weeks.”

Video, where Lautenberg, who threw pork so that NJ would have a train station with his name on it, wants the project:

Hudson rail tunnel is not dead yet, federal officials say

Let’s hope Christie is not playing the Dems’ game. This project is simply unaffordable.

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October 8, 2010 By Fausta

Hooray!! Christie kills the Hudson train tunnel

Why did he?

Because New Jersey is broke

Christie Kills Hudson Train Tunnel

The largest public transit project in the nation, a commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New Jersey to Manhattan, was halted on Thursday by Gov. Chris Christie because, he said, the state could not afford its share of the project’s rising cost.

I was going to write more on this, but instead must refer you to Ace, who is awesome:

Wait — 8.7 million with a 1 billion overrun??!!

No, they mean 8.7 billion. Yeah, I looked it up for once. Yay, me.

I left the error in to prove other people do it too, you know.

Oh, and that $1 billion in overruns seems on the low side.

According to the governor, cost overruns are estimated to be in a range from more than $2 billion to over $5 billion.

A bit more: the project was rushed to give Corzine an election year photo-op.

Tunnel opponents maintained the project was rushed together so then-Gov. Jon Corzine could get a re-election campaign photo opportunity at a ceremonial groundbreaking in summer 2009.

Click on the link to JWF to read Paul Krugman hyperventilating about how awful this is.

Krugman does have something of a point: Since the feds were kicking in $3 billion and the Port Authority $3 billion, with the state supposed to pick up the remaining $2.7 billion and all additional overruns, canceling the project loses the state money. I mean, I suppose if you could just pay that $2.7 billion and get an additional $6 billion tossed into the deal, that might be a good deal.

But look, it’s not going to be $2.7 billion. It won’t be $3.7 billion. It probably won’t be $4.7 billion and it might not even be just $7.7 billion.

We saw what happened with the Big Dig.

And: The state doesn’t have the money, whatever it is.

And what Krugman’s really steamed about is that Christie won’t just break his campaign pledge to raise gas taxes.

That’s what his problem really is; liberals have in mind an ever-expanding state, and for that they need ever-expanding tax revenues. Until now they have had relatively little pushback: they get slowdowns in the rate of expansion of taxation, but usually no sustained rollback.

Look, I take the trains regularly and certainly would love faster trains and that sort of thing. According to the article,

In scrapping the project, Mr. Christie is forfeiting the $3 billion from the federal government and jeopardizing as much from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The state may also have to repay the federal government for its share of the $600 million that has already been spent on the tunnel.

However,

the project would cost at least $2.5 billion more than its original price of $8.7 billion

And that’s before the work even starts.

Having lived in NJ for decades and seen how the taxpayer is treated as a bottomless source of funds, I applaud Governor Christie for doing this.

Was about time!

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