2Fast 2Full-of-Shit: California’s Bullshit Bullet Train
I saw a $10 billion bridge to nowhere, not incompetence, just a business model. Someone finally pushed it too far, even for the federal government.
California’s high-speed rail was never meant to work; it was meant to feed consultants, politicians, and liars. This started as a rant about California’s fake train project, but we ended up covering why nothing in America ever gets built.
I got a nice laugh today as I saw Trump pull the funding for the fraudulent California High-Speed Rail grift. The Associated Press piece has some real gems, like a clearly AI-generated statement (Notice the em dash, clue 1; then the Antithesis statement: “It’s not just x, it’s y”, clue 2).
“Canceling these grants without cause isn’t just wrong — it’s illegal,” authority CEO Ian Choudri said in a statement Wednesday.
A statement this grifter couldn’t even bother to write himself, over billions of dollars, for a project he can’t even bother to try to finish. The layers of irony are so beautiful, it almost makes you forget they already stole approximately $15 billion. Almost.
Initially pegged at $33 billion, current estimates have ballooned to between $128 billion and $135 billion. Ok, but let’s be honest here. The costs didn’t balloon. Everyone knew that was not an accurate figure. This is how it works: you say a low number knowing it is far too low, and then you milk the government for twice, or even three times, the price. But this one is unique. This is an insane amount of money to lie about. Think about this. The US spent approximately 3 trillion on the Iraq War (A dumb “investment” as well). Over 1.5 million soldiers served in Iraq. This would cost 1/30th of what a 10+ year war with trillions of man-hours would cost. How in the world can this thing not be built for less than that?
In a World With No Truth, Lies Are Sacred
The lie started from the moment the project was put forth. No one thought it would get done on time. That was the first lie. No one thought the costs would be so low. That was the second. Everyone involved knew this wasn’t a real plan. It was a presentation. A vehicle for press conferences, donor kickbacks, and the illusion of progress. But in a world where everyone is lying, where lying is rewarded, expected, and systemic, the truth is punished.
Once the public gets used to failure, the people responsible stop trying to hide it. They just renamed it. Delay becomes “public feedback.” Corruption becomes “oversight.” Failure becomes “a generational investment.” When truth is no longer required, the lie becomes sacred. Untouchable. And anyone who points out the obvious that this is theft is treated as the problem.
Remember True Detective the anthology crime drama from Nic Pizzolatto? Season 1 is all anyone remembers given the widespread acclaim it garnered—deservedly so, as the detective duo of Rustin Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Woody Harrellson) were brilliant—but I have maintained that Season 2 featuring Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams, largely seen as a let down following Season 1, was a strong sophomore season. Indeed, it was prescient one: the California high-speed rail project was a central mechanism of the plot, binding the murder mystery to a broader critique of political and economic corruption in modern America.
The rail project served as a symbol of California’s broken promises: a grand public infrastructure initiative turned into a mechanism for elite enrichment and was part of the show’s broader themes of moral rot, the illusion of progress, and the exploitation of public good for private gain. How Californian. Trump was right to pull the funding. Pizzolatto probably is having a laugh.
The Picture That Launched a Thousand Memes, But Not a Single Train
So this is a bridge. It looks completely normal, but it’s not. This is a $10+ billion bridge. Of course, the bridge itself is not $10 billion, but it represents all the money that has been spent so far. After bullshit “environmental impact” study after study, after countless councils of high-paid consultants (thieves). They really thought it was a good idea to post this picture. I lol’d for a long time thinking about how dumb you have to be to post this and not realize what people are going to think, but when you’ve already stolen over $10 billion, why wouldn’t you get away with it?
I think the most amazing thing is, they’re just building it next to the highway. That’s it. It’s not going through a national park, some sacred beaver dam, or even an area that is particularly beautiful. It’s a stupid train. If you need some experts, hire someone from Europe who has been doing this for decades. It’s really not that hard. But of course, building it was never the goal. This was a grift. A grift that they never thought would be exposed, because what monster would destroy the sacred high-speed rail project, when the US has no high-speed rail to speak of? Oh wait…
Brightline is Not so Bright, Because It’s Built in Florida
The high-speed rail commies have been completely silent about the Brightline. The only actual functioning high-speed rail that goes directly through some of the most densely populated areas in the US. It’s a modern marvel for a country of idiots who can’t lay down some stupid train tracks. Of course, this cannot stand, this privately funded (Communists cannot have that, who is John Galt?) train that has been immeasurably more successful than a stupid, centrally planned project funded by stolen money. So, how do they stack up?
In 2008, California voters approved the now-infamous high-speed rail project, promising sleek trains connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles at 220 mph (thus far, the only sleek thing found in California to this day has been in Diddy’s closet). Over fifteen years and more than $15 billion later, not a single train has run, not one passenger has boarded, and only a fraction of the Central Valley segment is even close to being built. Meanwhile, Brightline in Florida started in 2012, broke ground in 2014, and began service between Miami and West Palm Beach in 2018, extending all the way to Orlando by 2023, completing a 235-mile corridor. California was given a head start, billions in public funding, and a blank check from voters. Yet, it has produced nothing but excuses, delays, and budget overruns. Florida, with private backing and half the bullshit, has built a functioning train at a fraction of the cost.
A Council of Pathological Lies
Pathological lying, also known as pseudologia fantastica, is a recognized behavioral pattern where individuals lie compulsively, often without clear external gain. Research suggests it stems from a mix of neurological abnormalities and personality dysfunction, particularly traits linked to narcissism and antisocial behavior. A 2005 study using MRI scans found that pathological liars had increased white matter volume in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in decision-making and moral reasoning, suggesting they may be biologically wired for deception.
You might say, “Well, there is a clear incentive for them to gain here, so it’s not pathological”. But in institutional settings, the behavior spreads socially. When lying is rewarded and truth is punished, the entire system begins to function like a pathological liar: avoiding reality, manipulating perception, and escalating falsehoods until collapse is inevitable.
People lie when they believe the truth won’t get them what they want, or worse, when they’ve lived with the lie so long they forget there’s a difference. In politics, especially infrastructure politics, the lies start small. A fudged cost estimate. A fake timeline. A promise no one ever planned to keep. But once you get away with that, the next lie is easier. And bigger. And then the next. Eventually, lying becomes the default language.
This is what California’s high-speed rail became. A $33 billion promise, sold with a straight face, knowing full well that it would balloon far past that. It wasn’t a mistake. It was a tactic. And it worked—for a while. Until the lie got too big to carry.
That’s the thing about pathological lying. It doesn’t stop on its own. It escalates until the structure collapses under its own weight. No one asks for over $100 billion unless they think the rules no longer apply. And in California, they don’t. Not when your job is to smile, hold a press conference, and pretend the last fifteen years of failure are just a phase on the way to success.
This is what pathological lying looks like in public policy: a parade of fake milestones, inflated press releases, ceremonial ribbon cuttings with no ribbon and no rail. It’s not that these people can’t tell the truth. It’s that they have no incentive to. The system doesn’t reward honesty. It rewards the performance of progress, even when nothing moves an inch.
And when everyone lies, the truth becomes suspicious. The fraud becomes tradition. The grift becomes governance.
That’s how you end up with a $10 billion bridge to nowhere, a $135 billion train with no track, and a full board of directors who somehow think this all still makes sense.
A Website better than the project
You have to love that California has a sleek and fully functioning California High-Speed Rail Authority website. And what screams “we’re on it” like a homepage featuring glossy renderings, buzzwords like “equity” and “sustainability,” and a handy FAQ for why fifteen years of failure is actually “progress”? The site is basically a digital monument to professional gaslighting. It's not just that nothing has been built, but they're also proud of their nothing burger. It’s a brochure for a timeshare that doesn’t exist, but somehow costs $135 billion.
They update the press releases like anyone is reading them. “Milestone reached”, what milestone? You laid a concrete foundation in Fresno next to a gas station. “New jobs created” for consultants. “Community engagement sessions held” with PowerPoints, boxed lunches, and zero consequences. And of course, “Community engagement sessions held,” yes, public opinion has been known to pour concrete. And I’m sure each member of the board gets a $100,000 speaking fee per visit.
Officially, members of the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board are not salaried and receive only a per diem of $100 for each day they attend a board or committee meeting. With roughly one meeting per month, their annual compensation typically ranges between $1,200 and $1,500. This token amount is meant to signal public service, not profit. But of course, the real money doesn’t show up on a payroll sheet. It shows up in consulting contracts, land deals, speaking fees, and future appointments, all of which conveniently sit outside the scope of official compensation. So why would they do this? Well, let’s see!
1. Consulting Firms & Contractor Ties
Board members (or their close associates) often own, sit on, or advise engineering firms, environmental review firms, PR companies, or “community engagement” outfits that win contracts. They don’t have to be directly on the payroll — they might just “consult” later or have family running the firm.
Example:
A board member votes to approve a $20 million study contract to a company. That company later gives them a “consulting” role worth six figures after they rotate off the board.
2. Political Capital & Appointments
These positions build access and influence. You don’t need a salary if you can:
Secure future government roles
Control who gets hired on massive projects
Funnel contracts to allies, earning you loyalty and reciprocal favors (or campaign support)
If it’s not cash in a suitcase, it’s positioning for power. Often it’s both.
3. Land Speculation
If you know where the train will (theoretically) go, you or your associates can:
Buy land cheap before the public route is announced
Watch it skyrocket in value
Sell it to the state at a massive markup
This is one of the oldest tricks in the infrastructure grift playbook.
4. Shell Nonprofits & Advisory Boards
Board members or insiders may set up nonprofits or “transportation equity councils” that:
Get grant money
Receive state contracts for outreach, studies, or DEI compliance
Have zero oversight
Money flows in, nobody asks questions, and the “deliverables” are PowerPoints.
5. Kickbacks via Lobbyists
Lobbyists connected to the rail authority push contracts for clients. In exchange:
They steer campaign donations
They offer the board members family jobs (For example: In 2012, H. R. Crawford, the Chairman of the Board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, referred his daughter‑in‑law and a family friend for paid jobs with the airports authority.)
Or they provide exorbitant “speaking fees”, junkets, or future consulting gigs
Never Finishing, and Not Improving: A Feature, Not a Bug
These projects are built to fail on purpose. They take 2-3x longer than promised and cost 2-3x more. That is the business model. The only mistake California made was assuming a new, higher form of corruption had been accepted. But they reached beyond that limit and got cut off by Trump at the federal level.
And it is not just rail. This mindset infects everything. Roads, bridges, transit, utilities. All of it. We have seen real breakthroughs in infrastructure materials and technology, but none of it ever gets used. There is concrete that can heal itself using bacteria or polymers. There is water-absorbing concrete that reduces flooding and prevents surface damage. These aren’t theories. They exist. They work. But they are never adopted.
Because the goal is not to fix things permanently. The goal is to keep fixing them, again and again. To stretch projects out, create more delays, more overruns, more billable hours. A road or rail line that lasts 50 years is a dead end for the people who profit from failure. So they build things that take unreasonable amounts of time, and get rewarded with a contract extension. They build things that break, and then they get paid to fix them. And the cycle repeats.
The Future of Transportation Projects is Calling Out Fraud
There is only one way to stop this: say no. No to fake timelines. No to fake costs. No to a system where lying is not a flaw, but the entire operating manual. Politicians need to grow a spine and say, out loud, we are not funding fraud. Not one more dollar. Not one more consultant. Not one more study to “study” the last study.
Then open the door to private industry. Let the people who actually build things have a shot at doing it without the shackles of government planners, DEI compliance officers, and climate impact workshops. There are companies out there that know how to lay rail, pour concrete, and finish a project on time and under budget. But they don’t get the chance, because the system isn’t designed to succeed. It’s designed to stall, lie, and collect checks.
Cut the money. Call out the fraud. And stop pretending this isn’t bullshit. And make sure to watch True Detective Season 2.
And just like that, the corruption ended. All we have to do is start saying no to corruption (You can just do things).
Try to pull this shit in China and the party will have you shot by a firing squad on state TV.