WEBVTT - We Now Own an Incomplete Rump Railroad.  CA Assemblyman Jim Patterson talks to Armstrong & Getty

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<v Speaker 1>So listen, here's the story. Glorious sounding projects that will

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<v Speaker 1>only cost x and we only need to borrow a

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<v Speaker 1>few billion, and the private enterprise will get on board,

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<v Speaker 1>and the federal government WI help us out, and yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>this will work out great. That is the modern sirens

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<v Speaker 1>song of the Kynesian maniac, the person who just wants

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<v Speaker 1>the government to spend and spend and spend. They think

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<v Speaker 1>that's good public policy. And uh and and how these

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<v Speaker 1>things catch on and then how impossible they are to

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<v Speaker 1>kill All wrapped up in the story of the California

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<v Speaker 1>bullspit Train, also known as the Crony Express, and we

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<v Speaker 1>hear at the Armstrong and getting show have been trying

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<v Speaker 1>as hard as we can to drive a stake into

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<v Speaker 1>the heart of this vampire for a very long time,

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<v Speaker 1>as has California Assemblyman Jim Patterson, who represents the twenty

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<v Speaker 1>third Assembly District of Carreptafornia, and joins us. Now, Jim,

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<v Speaker 1>how are you, sir? Good Joe, thank you appreciate being

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<v Speaker 1>with you. Oh yeah, it's it's always good to talk. Listen,

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<v Speaker 1>we understand the federal government made a move yanking away

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<v Speaker 1>some of the federal money um that was going towards

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<v Speaker 1>this debacle. How much money and what does that mean? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>right now about a billion dollars. But also they have

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<v Speaker 1>they're making a claim on about two point five billion,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe three billion of uh federal taxpayer money that went

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<v Speaker 1>to the project early on the State of California high

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<v Speaker 1>Speed Rail Authority grossly misspent and misused. Uh. Look, California

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<v Speaker 1>high Speed Rail has done this to themselves. I'm a

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<v Speaker 1>little little tired of, you know, Gavin Newsom and the

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<v Speaker 1>Democrats in charge of this stay basically saying this is

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<v Speaker 1>this is just Donald Trump attack in California. Now, look,

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<v Speaker 1>here's the truth. The truth is that high Speed Rail

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<v Speaker 1>entered into an agreement. The Federal Rail Authority approved it.

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<v Speaker 1>You had to do certain things, you had to do

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<v Speaker 1>it on time, and you had to conform with the

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<v Speaker 1>with the plans that the federal government said will help

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<v Speaker 1>you pay for, including that there has to be a

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<v Speaker 1>fair amount of private investment, and there is virtually none.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's it's even worse than that. I mean, it

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<v Speaker 1>was supposed to go two D and fifty it's now

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<v Speaker 1>slow slow speed. It was supposed to go between l

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<v Speaker 1>A and San Francisco. Now it's going between Bakersfield and

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<v Speaker 1>and Madera, the initial operating system in central California, where

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<v Speaker 1>I represent and live in Fresno. We've got billions of

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<v Speaker 1>dollars of concrete in the air, and what are they

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<v Speaker 1>going to put on top of that concrete? Regular slow rail? Not.

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<v Speaker 1>So they basically took billions of federal taxpayer dollars, said

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<v Speaker 1>they would do one thing and have done something entirely different,

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<v Speaker 1>and now they want to blame the federal administration for

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<v Speaker 1>pulling back funds. California did this to themselves, and the

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<v Speaker 1>administration and the Federal Reil Authority has every right to

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<v Speaker 1>claw back billions of dollars. It is done often. This

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<v Speaker 1>is how the federal government keeps the states honest with

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<v Speaker 1>the kind of money that they that they send. So

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<v Speaker 1>I think this up is going to be more than

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<v Speaker 1>a billion dollars. I think there's a high probability that

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<v Speaker 1>we're gonna have to send back a couple of billion

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<v Speaker 1>to the Feds. And here's how they clawed that back.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe next year or the year after, they're gonna send

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<v Speaker 1>us what ten billion dollars for highways and streets, and

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<v Speaker 1>they'll they'll send us eight billions. Wait a minute, that'll work. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure there will be many court cases that they're

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<v Speaker 1>gonna Look, they're gonna they're gonna lose the court cases.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the oversight responsibility of federal funds. These kinds

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<v Speaker 1>of agreements are typical. I was mayor Fresno for eight years.

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<v Speaker 1>We had housing and urban development funds. When I got elected,

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<v Speaker 1>I inherited a mess uh And Hudd was basically saying,

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't fix it, uh, we're gonna you're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>get you know, maybe million next year. We're gonna claw

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<v Speaker 1>back thirty million of it because you've spent it incorrectly.

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<v Speaker 1>This is done all the time. So look, California, you

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<v Speaker 1>did it to yourself. This is a project that is

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely uh, disintegrating in front of our very eyes. And

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<v Speaker 1>what really bugs a day like about of me Joe,

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<v Speaker 1>is that central California was promised all of this great stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>What are we going to get out of this? A

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<v Speaker 1>rump railroad slow speed from Bakersfield to what Madera said,

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<v Speaker 1>we already have that. It's called Amtrak. Well, right, and

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<v Speaker 1>you know what, Jim, it's funny you should mention that

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<v Speaker 1>I happen to be on one of the most popular

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<v Speaker 1>Amtrak lines in California recently at rush hour, and it

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<v Speaker 1>was maybe half full when we started. Then people obviously

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<v Speaker 1>got off the train, but I mean half full at

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<v Speaker 1>rush were in a major metropolitan area, And now they're

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<v Speaker 1>going to build, at the cost of many billions of

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<v Speaker 1>dollars regular speed in the middle of the Central Valley

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<v Speaker 1>between a couple of towns, which are absolutely lovely towns

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<v Speaker 1>in great places to live and work. But you don't

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<v Speaker 1>need a freaking train line. And if the federal government

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<v Speaker 1>did not hold California accountable this way, they would have

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<v Speaker 1>to go apologize to Georgia, apologized to Florida. This has

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<v Speaker 1>been done in the past for rail projects that were

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<v Speaker 1>screwed up by states. I think Florida had to to

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<v Speaker 1>to get like a billion dollars clawed back. I think there.

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<v Speaker 1>I think Georgia is in the middle of a of

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<v Speaker 1>a of a bit of a dispute over this. I

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<v Speaker 1>think Michigan might have been. So Look, the storyline we're

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<v Speaker 1>getting from the governor and the Democrats is this is

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<v Speaker 1>all Trump's fault. No, it isn't, Governor, this is your fault.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the fault of the state of California. You

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<v Speaker 1>have spent billions, ripped up thousands of acres of prime agriculture,

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<v Speaker 1>taken people's businesses and their homes in central California, ripped

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<v Speaker 1>up streets in Fresno from one side of the city

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<v Speaker 1>to the other. And what are you leaving behind for

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<v Speaker 1>those billions of dollars, including a bunch of federal tax dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>A rump railroad, slow speed to ride. It's just this,

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<v Speaker 1>h Joe, I'm gonna I'm gonna go one step further.

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<v Speaker 1>Something is going on inside the High Speed Rail Authority

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<v Speaker 1>that smells like conflict and corruption. I think you can't

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<v Speaker 1>just explain what we see today as nothing more than incompetence.

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<v Speaker 1>If you'll recall, the l A Times did a really

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<v Speaker 1>good investigative story about how the High Speed Rail Authority

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<v Speaker 1>was captured by the consultants and the companies that are

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<v Speaker 1>getting the billions of dollars to build this. There's only

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<v Speaker 1>one interest group that us at the core a conflict

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<v Speaker 1>and maybe even a corrupt intent to keep the cash

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<v Speaker 1>flowing even though it's building. Uh, you know, this rump railroad,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's the big time contractors who uh, benefit from it.

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<v Speaker 1>And by the way, they're the same group of contractors

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<v Speaker 1>who put up hundreds of thousands of dollars so they

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<v Speaker 1>bought that vote for a train line no one wants

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<v Speaker 1>that will never be finished. And then as the price

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<v Speaker 1>quadruples quintuples, they're the ones that profit and they're cash

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<v Speaker 1>on the check. Well, as you dig into that gym,

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<v Speaker 1>please do keep us in the loop and we will

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely gladly be your mouthpiece. California Assemblyman Jim Patterson, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>there are still some good people in politics. Who represents

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<v Speaker 1>the assembly district in corrupt Affnia gym? Thanks a million

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<v Speaker 1>thanks at you got it.