Bee Pastures and Three Strikes for the Choo Choo

If I hadn't seen it myself I wouldn't believe it. As I drove to Mendota on Monday I passed these wildflowers alongside the road. I was reminded of John Muir's description of the Valley floor as Bee Pastures in the Spring. (If you haven't read Muir's "Mountains of California I would recommend you put it on your reading list. It is delightful.)

What I couldn't believe is when I drove by on Friday---they were already gone. That was quick.

The week was so full I didn't even make it down to the Farm Show. Droughts are bad for the water supply, but great for getting work done. We have been servicing equipment in the shop. Ruben finished rebuilding the front end of a small tractor we use in the orchard. We also got the forklift serviced.
   That forklift sure is handy. We bought it used last year. In the past few weeks we unloaded a dozen bins for the planting at the house. And, last week I unloaded four pallets of cinder block. That was a lot more fun with a forklift than it would have been by hand.

   The almonds have been watered and fertilized. The newly planted almonds have gotten a little extra tender loving care. We hand fertilized them with some phosphate and humic acid to help their roots grow. ( I have a friend who is a retired agronomist and he recommends humic acid for everything. It is full of all sorts of organic goodies and it does make things grow. I asked Rod if there were any limits to this miracle treatment. Both of us are going bald and the bad news is that humic acid will not be helping with that. But, it does a great job on plant roots. )

I am going to be stepping on the toes of some friends here, but I call 'em as I see them.

Three Strikes for the Choo Choo

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright February 2015

            I like trains. I travel by train to visit my family in San Diego. I wish it was a three hour trip instead of an eight hour ride. That being said, I can no longer support high speed rail. I supported it ten years ago when it was a $30 billion dollar project. Then it went to $100B and back down to $65B. I suspect that $65B number will grow. But, that is not why I reluctantly withdraw my support. I have three main problems with high speed rail, and in baseball it’s three strikes and you’re out

Strike One: Eminent Domain

            Eminent domain doesn’t mean much to most people. But, I hope at least you can understand that when you threaten a farmer’s land you are threatening his livelihood. For the record, I do not have land near the high speed rail corridor. But, there are a lot of people who are surprised by the strong negative reaction from farmers on this issue. We are a pretty patriotic bunch and we generally support the greater good. But, it is fairly obvious the government does not have our confidence on this project. When you threaten people’s means of making a living with the blunt force of eminent domain you should expect a reaction like this. (If, on the other hand, they wanted to build a canal, we might even donate the land.)

            Please remember, the Founding Father’s had read John Locke who said the purpose of government was to protect “life, liberty and property.” Instead of protecting our property our government is taking our property and with it our means to make our living.

Strike Two: What You Can Get for 10% of the Cost of a Choo Choo

            For less that 10 cents on the dollar I can help every Californian. The cost of the high speed rail is supposed to be $65B. I’ll ignore the likelihood of cost over runs. Even if it comes in on budget and on time, it will help relatively few Californians---at a cost of $65B! I can help every man, woman and child; every farm and every business in California for the bargain price of $5Billion. All we have to do is fix the water system! We can increase water storage and reliability for a fraction of the cost of high speed rail.

Strike Three: The Price of a Train Ticket            

              The other problem on cost will be the cost of a ticket. My wife road the bullet train in Japan and it was the cost of an airline ticket. Are people really going to live in the Valley and commute to the Bay Area or LA if they have to pay the equivalent of an airline ticket every day? How many jobs pay enough for that? One advocate told me that was OK since it would be more convenient than an airplane ride since we won’t have to go through airport security. Isn’t $65B a high price for that kind of convenience?

There Are Even More Issues-

            These three strikes don’t even include serious issues like conflict of interest, or incomplete funding. Should Senator Feinstein’s husband’s company even be eligible to bid on a government contract?

            How can we start a project if this size without all the funding in place? Either we will throw money down a rat hole that gets’ stopped part way, or we’ll be held hostage with the logic, “ It’s already half done, we only need X billion dollars to finish. The Governor often reminds us he was once a seminarian. Did he remember to read Luke 14:28-33?

            High speed rail would be nice. If I could afford a ticket I would ride it. I just think we have to put first things first. A water supply might not be sexy, new and exotic for our politicians, but without a stable farm sector can California ever really be strong? Let’s secure our foundation before we start building expensive trinkets that will only benefit a few. As I see it, three strikes and you’re out.

I hope you all have a great week.