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The state legislature early this morning finally passed a big water package that will bring an $11.1 billion bond to voters next year. In part, "it sets aside $3 billion for new storage and $2 billion for ecosystem restoration in the delta," explains the LA Times. "It would fund recycling and groundwater cleanup important to Southern California, pay for Salton Sea restoration and watershed projects on the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers. There is money for drought relief, Lake Tahoe, a dam removal project on the Klamath River in Northern California and Sierra foothill communities." The bond has split environmental groups. Some, like the NRDC and the Environmental Defense Fund, like it. Others, such as the Sierra Club, do not.
For Next November's Ballot: The Big Water Bond
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Any ideas why the 110 off/on ramps will be shut down for 1 year starting tomorrow from the hours of
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LAist readers lean left, so most will say this is great.
But the reality is that it is NOT.
With $11 BILLION in bonds, MORE BONDS than now, comes interest fees, what is called debt servicing.
Debt servicing takes priority over anything else the government pays. That translates into the less dollars for education and other expenses the state has.
This is like the person who bought a house with a negative amortization loan, then gets another loan for solar panels, and another loan to buy a fuel efficient car. Yeah, the purpose of the loans are good, but you can't afford it, and it puts more important expenses at risk.
Sacramento could have said we're going to spend $500m a year to do this and never borrow a dime. But that wouldn't please the unions who want the money now or the bankers who want the fees for selling the bonds, or even the rating agencies that get paid for rating the bonds.