California will not complete $77B high-speed rail project: governor

Re:California will not complete $77B high-speed rail project... by ummonk on Tuesday February 12, 2019 @07:18PM (#19149119)

Lighting $10 on fire is a lot better than spending $100 and getting $50 back. You take a bigger net loss with the latter move.

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Re:California will not complete $77B high-speed rail project... by geezerjay on Wednesday February 13, 2019 @02:17PM (#19155832)

> Lighting $10 on fire is a lot better than spending $100 and getting $50 back.

That's not how the math works with infrastructure projects.

With infrastructure projects there is the upfront cost and immediate returns, but there are also all other externalities and savings from shift in consumer demand and, for example, urban renewal and requalification.

For instance, how much would you save if you cut on the number of cars entering a urban center? This means less pollution, less traffic, less commutting times, etc etc etc

Does that have no value?

[ Parent | on HN ]