Steve Hoffacker's Sales Quips

Governor Rick Scott returned money that Sen. Bill Nelson tried to force Florida to take for a high speed rail serving Tampa-Orlando. Governor Scott Walker and Governor John Kasich had returned it before the money made its way to Florida.

President Obama want 80% of the country serviced by high speed rail.

Fortunately that will never happen.

America is a car society. We go where we want want, when we want - and we aren't dependent on a train route or train schedule to determine this.

The China high speed rail - often held over us like an older sibling doing well in school when we aren't - has proven that high speed rail doesn't work. If it can't work in China - where there really is an expanse of geography to be covered, where there is seemingly limitless money to invest, and where there are no shortage of riders - has lost billions of dollars (over $300) and created a real scandal for the man in charge of the system.

There is concern about safety and construction methods and materials. Two weeks ago, the government reduced the speed trains could travel by 30 mph - not so high-speed anymore. Also ticket sales can't come close to funding the debt service (over $27 billion in 2011).

The China experiemnt should put to rest our dreams of high speed rail.

Now, let's get on with drilling and mining all of the oil and gas we have in the country - more than any other nation.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Governor Rick Scott of Florida already told the feds no thanks to 2.4 billion dollars - just as Scott Walker and John Kasich had before the money got dumped onto Scott's desk. He sent it back - a move that enraged the Republican-controlled legislature. That one really stumps me. Floirda has a budget shortfall. To take the money would require the matching and construction money of over $3 billion - for a project doomed to failure before it even begins. A coalition of local governments was suggested as a way to provide the money. Fortunately Scott said no - again - to this because they can't afford it either.

Now the legislature is working with Ray LaHood and trying to figure out a way to keep the money and bypass the Governor's ruling. Hope it doesn't work. LaHood will then take his money to other states until some unlucky contestant accepts it. WHy not just put the money back in the treasury and save it?

Scott has said that if any private enterprise wants to step forward and provide the matching money to build the rail he's OK with that. It's not going to happen, however, so that was a pretty safe bluff.

If high speed rail was such a desirable project, don't you think that with Disney, Martin-Lockhead, Harris, NASA, Siemens, and other such companies in Florida that we would have had it about 30 years ago - when it would have been a whole lot cheaper to build?

The fact is people won't ride it. It's one of those "chicken-in-every-pot" ideas that sounds good - until it comes to the details. Minimal ridership due everyone wanting a stop in their city along the way and the frequency of the trains - as well as the inconvenience of getting to and from the stations and then conducting business in the destination city - means that people will continue to use their cars. It has the potential of being a glorified commuter train, and those already don't work.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama said that he wants to have 80% of the country serviced by high-speed rail in the next several years. This is a foolhardy plan, and today our Gov. Rick Scott of Florida joined his fellow Govs. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and John Kasich of Ohio in rejecting wasteful government spending earmarked for high-speed rail projects in their respective states.

Actually, Kasich said no first, them Walker, and now Scott. The money was passed from state-to-state looking for a taker of this taxpayer money.

Fortunately no one has decided to take it. Scott said no to over $2 billion in federal money that doesn't need to spent and now won't be unless the feds can line up another state. Any state that takes the money will have to ante up its matching share from its already straped budget.

It's especially heartening since Florida Senator Bill Nelson was so proud that he was able to steer this money to Florida - another sign that he is out of touch with the needs of our state and that his days in office are numbered.

Kudos to Kasich, Walker, and Scott and the residents of their states. Too bad Nelson, Obama, LaHood and others in Washington don't get it. Wide spread high-speed rail - even in a robust economy is one of the silliest plans presented so far for America. In limited application in dense urban corridors, it has some merit, but that's about it. At any rate, there is no money to fund it and this ranks about as low as you can get in terms of priorities.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.