boondoggle

Light-rail boondoggle moves money instead of people

Randal O'Toole May 5, 2013

Taxpayers, transit riders, and motorists will all rue the day that RTD built its first light-rail line.

LATEST VIDEOS

Ep. 197 - Randal O'Toole - Devil's Advocate

Colorado is considering a $4.7 billion passenger rail plan—but will it actually ease congestion, and who ultimately pays for it? Transportation policy expert Randall O’Toole joins us to explain why even a lifelong train lover has serious concerns.

33:22

I Love Trains But...

YouTube Video UEwyN1JnNDNac3N0QXZNazFrZmZpRUJNWFV0cXNHLTJhSC5BRjM4OEI3MDIxQkIwNEEx

Colorado's water seems to be missing. Where did it go? PowerGab Host Amy Cooke discusses this topic with the president of the Natural Resources Group, Greg Welcher.

Show Notes:
https://gregwalcher.com/about-the-author/
https://i2i.org/where-life-is-written-in-water/

26:44

PowerGab Ep127 - Where is Colorado's Water?

YouTube Video UEwyN1JnNDNac3N0Q1RlbGdMaEU5Z0gwUjVuV0pMM1l6OC43RjdBQTMwNUUwRTA1QkE3

17:55

Colorado Gave Homeschool Programs DAYS to Survive

YouTube Video UEwyN1JnNDNac3N0RHhUdnpnT2c4Q0pPMXVnYWZMY2ktZi4yQUE2Q0JEMTk4NTM3RTZC

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR

LATEST PODCASTS

Who’d have believed that Bernie Sanders, a ranting disheveled old man could rise to become the modern-day reincarnation of Vladimir Lenin, with a Brooklyn accent, evangelizing for socialism in the USA and building a legion of useful idiots? (Clue: Bernie and his wife honeymooned in the Soviet Union.) He’s certainly not charismatic. So, he shrewdly recruited AOC as his partner, a weird May-December relationship, for a road show last winter called the “Fighting Oligarchy Tour.”

Bernie’s schtick is throwing around a barrage of angry, demagogic, simplistic, exaggerated, inflammatory slogans to rile up gullible malcontents. The slogan for this tour was that America has become an “oligarchy.” Let’s start with the definition of that term. Oligarchy: noun, a form of government in which the ruling power belongs to a small wealthy group that controls the economy and makes laws and political decisions to preserve its own power.

Myth of the oligarchy

Really? Who are the members of this oligarchy of wizards that possess the superpower to run our government, our military, our foreign policy, and our intricate economy with literally millions of businesses large and small? No such thing exists. This is a contrived fantasy to fuel Bernie’s socialist crusade. Ironically, such an oligarchy is more likely to be found in totalitarian socialist states where opposition political parties are banned and the only names on ballots in their mock elections are members of the official Communist party. Such states control every facet of your life with an iron grip like the former Union of Soviet “Socialist” Republics, Cuba, North Korea, China — or Iran’s theocracy of ayatollahs. The American republic’s system of government with its separation of powers, checks and balances, and its highly competitive free market economy is too complex and independent to be ruled by a small cabal of evil billionaires.

If this imaginary oligarchy controls the federal government, why did it bounce back and forth through a procession of presidents with wildly different political agendas from 2000 – 2024: Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden, and Trump (again)? Or did the “oligarchy” only emerge in 2024 with Trump’s reelection? And what secret power does it have over him, the Republican majority in Congress, and conservative justices on the Supreme Court? How do the oligarchs manipulate state governments with big cities nominally run by Democrats? And what power does it have over rural America that favors Republicans?

Bernie used to attack millionaires. Now that he’s one himself, he’s shifted his wrath to billionaires (adjusting for inflation, they were called millionaires in the 19th century). But today’s billionaires can’t be an all-powerful oligarchy because they’re not monolithic and have differing beliefs and political agendas. Elon Musk is a conservative who sides with Donald Trump (they’ve hugged and made up). George Soros funds countless causes on the radical left (so he’s immune to criticism form Bernie and AOC). The Koch brothers are libertarian. A host of billionaires that favor Democrats and lean left includes Tom Steyer, Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffet, and Laurene Powell Jobs (yeah, the widow of Steve, the guy who created Apple).

All these folks can’t be on the same team. By definition, oligarchs are unified.

Capitalism benefits all

Billionaires have a lot of influence but they don’t have a monopoly on that. So do people with low or no income that are the Democrats’ core voting constituency. Other powerful influencers include labor unions (especially the teacher unions), academia, public education, the press and TV broadcast media (mostly leftist), social media and podcasters.

Bernie claims “capitalism in the U.S. benefits only a few.” A “few?” Like what, 3 or four people out of 340 million? Be serious. Americans enjoy the highest standard of living in the world directly derived from our capitalist economy. Those who excel, like successful entrepreneurs and CEOs, professional athletes, inventors, actors and Taylor Swift make a fortune, generously donate to causes and foundations, and pay a lot in taxes. Most Americans are somewhere in the middle, and those on the bottom are supported by countless social welfare programs at the federal, state and local level.

Capitalism has certainly benefited Bernie, a man with little marketable talent who somehow became a millionaire. But wait; he’s never had a real job in the capitalist private sector. It’s all been in politics and government office at taxpayer expense derived from our capitalist economy.

Bernie claims, “A handful of billionaires have more wealth than they could spend in a thousand years.” If he had any understanding of economics, which he doesn’t, he’d know that most of it is invested. Capital formation is the lifeblood of any economic system.

What they spend is none of his business, they earned it.

Search Results placeholder

ORIGINAL REPORTING • COMMENTARY • PODCASTS • VIDEO

boondoggle

Light-rail boondoggle moves money instead of people

LATEST VIDEOS

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR

LATEST PODCASTS

Myth of the oligarchy

Capitalism benefits all

FOLLOW US

SITE MAP

WANT TO STAY IN TOUCH?

Copyright © 2025 Complete Colorado.