State Senate President Mike Haridopolos officially has his first big issue flip flop and has apparently targeted what he hopes is a solid Tea Party talking point ahead of the US Senate campaign. By taking on Central Florida's high speed rail - which Haridopolos and 27 other senators voted to pass, clearing the way for SunRail - Haridopolos has exposed his hypocrisy more than before. However, more important than a flip flop is the fact that his decision simply makes no sense at all.
Haridopolos now claims "we can't afford it" - even if the federal government is covering all costs except just under $300 million of the multi-billion dollar deal. Haridopolos says that we can't afford it, however, he has no problem with the fact that Rick Scott plans to use tax dollars to wait for yet ANOTHER study about the feasibility of rail while several parts of the project that should have already been completed are put on immediate hold. These GOP attempts are stopping progress, hurting central Florida and costing us jobs and a full chance at economic recovery. This is ridiculous and unacceptable!
But let's go even further than that. Haridopolos' colleague State Sen. Paula Dockery (I'm sure most of us know of her all too well) is advising Scott on the state's rail plan as part of his transition team. Sen. Dockery says the companies have been willing to assume much of the risk of unexpected costs, and they bring their own financing to the table. She says the companies will pay what would be the taxpayers' share and cover any cost overruns, operations and maintenance. The Orlando Sentinel has also written in recent weeks about how private companies vying to build the rail would cover the state's portion to have the honors of building America's first high speed rail link.
Don't let the GOP or these wanna-be conservatives tell you different - or try to sell you about unexpected costs and overruns from new "studies." The truth is that Florida simply can't have the overruns and costs that other areas of the country are having. Our link from Orlando to Tampa is a very limited path, follows an already established highway, and is the shortest link of any proposed high speed rail in the country. To think we would come anywhere near 45% over budget is simply nonsensical if you are realistic about what is being accomplished here. Also, let me remind you: PRIVATE companies WANT to cover the Florida taxpayer's share!
The other main issues to remember in regards to high speed rail are economic. On January 5, 2010, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Smart Growth America, and U.S. PIRG released What We Learned from the Stimulus, a study that concluded that public transportation generates more jobs than highway construction, despite transit receiving far less dollars. In fact, the data showed transit spending produced twice as many jobs per dollar as investing in roads. More immediate and local, investing in transit transportation leads to real jobs - and better than road projects, rail projects lead to more stable jobs. These jobs are not only comprised of the installation of machinery, but also on their upkeep, dispatch, and operation. For every transportation-related device that is installed, at least four different job opportunities are typically created. This high speed rail would also realistically make Orlando-Tampa a viable Olympic host candidate (as well as more large-scale events and money-making opportunities for a tourist destination) as well as continue to merge and expand Central Florida's economy. Think of everything central Florida specifically has to offer companies and families compared to other areas (if only we had high speed rail to connect them all).
The hypocrisy of Haridopolos' flip flop should only be seen as his first failed attempt to become a "real" Tea Party conservative US Senate nominee. Democrats should begin to seriously target him and take him to task on this, his guilty ethics plea and begin to take him to task before Haridopolos implements his agenda of cutting state employee pay & benefits, privatizing our prisons and ending public education as we know it.
It's also a winning issue, the right thing to do and it's something Democrats and progressives should fight for right now. Public transportation is a progressive issue and if we do not fight for high speed rail how can we ever expect to have more access to public buses. I don't quote Sen. Dockery all too often, however, I will end with how she sums up high speed in our great state. She says: for Florida, it all adds up to a great deal.
This blog cross-posted at Florida Progressive Coalition Blog.