I was only addressing certain comments. We aren't at such a clear point yet but in my opinion we may have built enough to consider it the point of no return. Does anyone have figures for how much has already been spent?
When it comes to cost of a project, there is NO SUCH THING as a "point of no return" unless you're destroying something in the process -- then it might be more problematic to stop than complete the project to make whatever it is safe, like preparing a valley for flooding to create a lake.
This project will not destroy anything if we stop. The track supports could be left standing with no danger to the public since they will be there with a train running as well.
I've posted before about the fallacy of sunken costs. EEF has a real problem understanding it, so I expect he'll recycle his comments unless I mention it.
Sunken costs: the money already spent. Now that we are already so over budget we can't count that high, you and others say we might as well finish it. Finishing will cost another 1,2 ,3 4, or 5 billion dollars -- we won't know until the contractors give more new estimates.
The project was initially projected to cost $4.6 billion, but that number now is $6.7 billion, forcing the city in January
to approve a five-year extension of a general excise tax surcharge to help cover the overrun.
City officials are awaiting the opening of two sets of bids, covering the final 10 miles of the project, to see if even that is
enough. At this rate, city officials said, it could have the distinction of being, on a per-capita basis, the most expensive
transit project in the country’s history — in a state that also has the highest per capita cost of living in the nation.
The train, which will take passengers from this city in western Oahu to the edge of Waikiki, is at least two years behind
schedule, set for opening at the end of 2021.
So, we are talking an extended period to complete: 2021. It's 2017 now, so another 4+ years. There are already problems of worsened traffic and businesses closing or going into deep debt to survive. Those costs are real costs as well. Money was set aside to help these businesses, but no money has been provided to anyone. It just sits there because the legislature never gave anyone authority to use it.
The question becomes, at what point have we spent more money than this will be worth? That is the point where you CUT YOUR LOSSES and stop the insanity. Use the money that would have been used to finish the rail for another project -- transportation, sewers, water mains, parks, homeless, .... So many opportunities to spend that money and actually have something good to show for it over another 4+ years to create a train system that is guaranteed to not be self-sustaining moneywise.
That's called an opportunity cost -- choosing to fund the rail means you've cost yourself any benefit of funding something else instead.
Priorities -- they matter.