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This is great; a private firm is willing to build a $350 million desalination plant, without tax dollars. At least that is the headline--totally a fraud.
"But this should not be taken to mean that the private project would come at no cost to taxpayers. In fact, the company will rely heavily on taxpayer-funded programs, incentives and indirect government subsidies, according to interviews with water leaders around the state.....Most of the money for the Huntington Beach plant's construction will likely come from private activity bonds authorized by the three-member California Debt Limit Allocation Committee.
The committee members are Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer and Controller John Chiang. Little known outside financial and political circles, the bonds are used to "finance projects and programs that both provide a public benefit and contribute to the economic vitality of California," according to its website.
Typical projects financed with these bonds include low-income multi-family housing; industrial development; redevelopment projects; and projects for water treatment, sewage or hazardous materials."
Get the government out of the process--this is part of the reason government skews programs toward its goals, not those of the public.
If this is a good idea, and it is, then let the private sector do it and leave government to pass a balanced budget and try to be fiscally responsible.
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"But this should not be taken to mean that the private project would come at no cost to taxpayers. In fact, the company will rely heavily on taxpayer-funded programs, incentives and indirect government subsidies, according to interviews with water leaders around the state.....Most of the money for the Huntington Beach plant's construction will likely come from private activity bonds authorized by the three-member California Debt Limit Allocation Committee.
The committee members are Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer and Controller John Chiang. Little known outside financial and political circles, the bonds are used to "finance projects and programs that both provide a public benefit and contribute to the economic vitality of California," according to its website.
Typical projects financed with these bonds include low-income multi-family housing; industrial development; redevelopment projects; and projects for water treatment, sewage or hazardous materials."
Get the government out of the process--this is part of the reason government skews programs toward its goals, not those of the public.
If this is a good idea, and it is, then let the private sector do it and leave government to pass a balanced budget and try to be fiscally responsible.
More...