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Posted on 04/09/2010 9:15:42 PM PDT by americanophile
The US has looked to China for help building railroads ever since Chinese laborers laid down the tracks for the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. Now, California hopes a partnership with the Middle Kingdom can do for 21st Century high-speed rail what that far less pleasant 19th Century "partnership" did for the Transcontinental Railroad. America's most populous state and the world's most populous country have already signed preliminary agreements on the Chinese government building bullet trains on the West Coast, with Governor Schwarzenegger hoping to visit China later this year to further develop the project.
As it stands now, the deal involves the leasing of Chinese bullet train technology to General Electric. GE claims that 80 percent of the train components would be manufactured in the US, with China providing the technical know how and the other 20 percent of parts. To build the parts, GE may convert a joint GE/Toyota plant in Fremont, California that's currently slated for closure.
In recent years, China has outpaced the US in high-speed rail technology, and has even begun to challenge early adopters like Europe and Japan. China has already built 4,000 miles of high-speed rail at home, and will add another 1,200 miles to its system this year. Like in other rail projects initiated by the China Government, China would foot the bill for a significant portion of the construction.
Naturally, the project is far from a done deal. California is also entertaining offers from Japan, Germany, South Korea, Spain, France and Italy, and China has yet to prove it can maintain its low costs and speed production times in countries with strict labor and environmental protection laws.
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
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Cute Borrow the $ from the PRC then hire them to do this work? Something VERY wrong here!
Paid for by Joe the taxpayer, Americans. Stimulus and borrowing more, paid for by us for chinese jobs in America.
How long will Obama redistribute the wealth and punish bad, bad America?
Til there’s no wealth left.
We are already there. So en slave us to debt for decades.
Hey, Arnie! How about closing that budget deficit before spending a boatload of money on a new, fancy train. Or, better yet, why not hire AMERICANS do to it?
Willie Green will be ecstatic!
As long as no public money is involved they can do what ever they want.
If it has to be subsidized, kill it!
Public transportation is for welfare cases and I don’t want to support it!
Let them walk!
Does anyone need more proof that we have been betrayed by Corporate Power and Treasonous politicians? This was totally unimaginable only 20 years ago!
And where is this money coming from?? I wish they’d stay the he@@ out of my pocketbook...
It’s time to burn our homes down and get tax rebate for reconstruction of brand new homes with US construction businesses contracted.
End this Manchurianism of liberal lazy cowards: turn other cheek, resist not evil, bankrupt the whole scheme.
Well, that’s a nice gift in return for more debt and the destruction of what’s left of our pathetic manufacturing base. Thank you, lying, bipartisan traitors. Have fun. Enjoy the ride!
Let us Californians vote on this nonsense again.
Even the fools (fools) who foolishly voted FOR it might understand that (if it absolutely HAS to be designed and build, which it most certainly does NOT)...
Then, it should be designed and build right here in the Golden State.
As an aside, I'll bet that even the illegal aliens are mad at this.
.
The corporate-governmental complex rears its ugly head again...
Will the Chinese railroad workers be wearing their coolie hats?
Big win for Chinese industry, big loss for California taxpayers. No one will use these things. No one outside of the gaggle of environmentalists and mass transit nuts who somehow have ended up in decision making positions wants these things.
"You're crazy! Nobody's gonna drive on this 'freeway' when they can take the Red Car for a nickel!"
"Oh, they'll drive. They'll have to.
You see, I bought the Red Car so I could dismantle it!"
WHO is going to pay for it? I thought California is all but bankrupt and they want to start a $40 BILLION project?
Can he do us a favor and just stay over there?
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