Time to come somewhat clean with corruption / embezzlement. All taxpayers should read this... Trump, New York / New Jersey Gateway Tunnel

Time to come somewhat clean with corruption / embezzlement. All taxpayers should read this... Trump, New York / New Jersey Gateway Tunnel




First, I had some involvement with three bridge projects in the NYC area over the last few years, all which are completed and I am finally back home. In what capacity, I cannot say, but it was not a small part such as a laborer.
I would be involved in a direct capacity with the Gateway Project as well.

I saw what went on.

Now, give this quick article a read.
[link to www.nj.com (secure)]

A quick background for those of you not in the know:
Gateway, the infrastructure project Trump hates so much he threatened a shutdown, explained
How Trump undermined one of the nation’s most critical infrastructure projects.
[link to www.vox.com (secure)]


I am going to try to explain the article in the NJ.COM link as best I can so people may better understand.

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"The states, Amtrak, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey lowered the project’s price tag to $9.5 billion for the new tunnel under the Hudson River and $1.8 billion to repair the existing tubes that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. That’s a $1.4 billion reduction in costs."

Pretty self-explanatory. Except those agencies revenues were supposed to fix the infrastructure via tolls/fares.

AMTRAK and Port Authority are government agencies.


______
"Gateway officials said they were able to lower costs because they have done enough advance work to know they will have fewer unexpected expenses and therefore will not have to put as much money aside as previously expected. This is because there will be fewer larger contracts designed to attract several bidders which should hold down costs, and because additional funds can be saved by having the same company both design and build the project."

How they are telling you they lowered costs isn't 100% factual as the writer does not know the inner workings and shady deals that will go on.

"Unexpected expenses" are mostly less kickbacks / bribes paid.

"Fewer larger contracts" is not viable. Insurance and bonding alone will eliminate many of the "smaller" outfits.
Skanska Koch / Kiewit / Turner [link to cisleads.com (secure)] will most likely be involved in the lions share of things, subbing jobs out to smaller contractors, but shouldering the insurance/bonding to an extent, which the smaller contractors will have to retain themselves anyway.

There were plenty of jobs done for some of the "top dogs" of these agencies with one gaining the most in kickbacks and "G-JOBS".
Anthony Coscia
[link to www.windelsmarx.com (secure)]
[link to www.amtrak.com (secure)]
Ex-Port Authority chairman stays in public arena as Obama appointee to create U.S. high-speed rail network
[link to www.nj.com (secure)]

Ask him about his vacations and nice landscaping and other home improvements he did not pay for, but you did.


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Notice, Mr. Coscia is an Obama appointee just above.

"The new application is designed to overcome objections raised by President Donald Trump and his administration after the federal government under President Barack Obama agreed to split the costs with New Jersey and New York."

Well, NY Governor Cuomo also gained a lot of personal "favors" from these pork barrel projects at his residence and some lavish "gifts".
Andrew Cuomo even got his fathers name on the Tappan Zee bridge.


"Trump, who initially appeared to support funding for Gateway, at one point threatened to shut down the federal government rather than allow federal funding for what New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called “the most vital infrastructure project in the nation.”



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Now, for the biggie.

"Congress has gotten around his opposition by putting hundreds of millions of dollars in budget accounts with the understanding that the funds would be spent on the Gateway project, which also includes a new Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River."[i/]

Now, there is straight deception. They padded "other" accounts with extra funds, but I will tell you this now, most of that money is already GONE.

It's sort of like how you pay into Social Security all your life, and people can come to the U.S., never having set foot here before, and qualify for the money you paid in, and is why that program will eventually collapse, or you will be working till you die.


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"The administration has rejected claims that New Jersey and New York would be covering half the cost since their $5.5 billion would come from federal loan programs that the states would have to pay back. This is despite the fact that Congress specifically passed legislation making it clear that such loans could be used as the local share.

Yes, both states are bankrupt. Take a look at the pension crisis. [link to www.mercatus.org (secure)]



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“With hundreds of millions in savings for taxpayers, the strength of this latest financial submission is further proof that the state of New Jersey and its partners are ready to step up and do whatever is in our power to ensure that construction of the Hudson Tunnel project moves forward,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.

Murphy and Cuomo signed legislation last July to ensure that both states would pay their share of the Gateway costs. The bill said New Jersey would fund its portion from the Transportation Trust Fund, not from a proposed surcharge on NJ Transit fares.

This is utter bullshit for lack of better words. Living in the area for a few years, I got to know a lot of people and they tell me how people get their training at NJ TRANSIT and then leave to go to Long Island Railroad or MetroNorth where the pay is much higher.

They have no choice BUT to raise fares. It may not be right away, but the jumps will be more drastic.




Trump is very familiar with how these people work. Anthony Coscia is one of the more well known faces that make money disappear, and all projects run into cost-overruns.
[link to www.windelsmarx.com (secure)]
That link is REALLY an eye-opener.

The current President tried to delay the project, and save some money as if it were privately built costs would be much lower, but fares would be higher. Regardless, fares WILL be going up.
But again, you run into certain politicians who would BLOCK a private construction/ownership as those politicians would not be getting their palms greased as well as they will going about it the current way.



I doubt anyone will read this, but here it may stay.
I am not going to stick around as nobody will want to read all of this.
There is more, but I will need volumes of books.