Oct 23 2008
Toll Road Agencies Request Federal Loan…So Why Are They Still Building?
This past week, the whole federal bailout business has begun to hit a little too close to home for Orange County surfers and toll road opponents as a new controversy has sprung up out of the Trestles debate. It seems that, along with their money-hungry buddies on Wallstreet, the Transportation Corridor Agencies are requesting to be bailed out by the federal government as well. According to the Orange County Register, the TCA, who owns and operates both the San Joaquin Hills and Foothill/Eastern toll roads, has applied for a $1.1 billion federal loan in order to refinance $4.6 billion in debt.
So my question is, if a corporation is so far in debt that they are relying on federal funds to bail them out, if their existing toll roads are performing so poorly that the TCA can’t finance their projects with their own money, then why are they still pushing for the extension of an underperforming, money-draining highway? It just seems like common sense to me that one would want to clear up their nearly $5 billion debt before starting another multi-billion dollar project. But then again, I’m just an English major who is still baffled by the concept of negative
money.
Read the Register’s full article here: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/road-toll-loan-2198081-transportation-foothill
+1. Well said, I feel that way with all of these corporations. You can’t just throw money at a problem and hope it will go away, you have to change the policies and circumstances that led it into debt in the first place. free-market economy psh.
What! I live so close to this beautiful beach. I am going to definitely go check it out now. Thanks for the report…