Althouse: Billions of dollars and still no end date.

April 30, 2026

Billions of dollars and still no end date.

1. "The Iran war now has a price tag ($25 billion), but still no end date" (NPR).

2. "California high-speed rail price tag jumps to $231B, nearly seven times 2008 estimate" (Fox26News).

86 comments:

rehajm said...: Remember that estimate we used to green light the project? Well we were waaay off!!; 4/30/26, 2:06 PM
Dave Begley said...: Wondering if the experts at NPR could put a price of the cost of a nuke dropped by the IRGC on Israel.

"A cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." Oscar Wilde. The first person I heard say that was Ginni Lamp Thomas; my Creighton classmate.; 4/30/26, 2:19 PM
rehajm said...: $25 billion for a war seems a bargain compared to the others…; 4/30/26, 2:20 PM
rehajm said...: NPR has no problem for trillions to fund illegals. Red hot hate for Trump flying anywhere or a privately funded ballroom though…; 4/30/26, 2:21 PM
bgates said...: The Iran war...still [has] no end date

Stark contrast to the thrilling speech FDR gave after Pearl Harbor:

"December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. Other dates which will live on shall include June 6 1944, which is when the Allied forces will gain a beachhead on the northern coast of France, and May 8 1945, which is when Germany is going to surrender, and then late summer 1945 - we don't have a precise day nailed down just yet because there's going to be some amount of paperwork involved - we will see the final surrender of the Empire of Japan, who as I mentioned, attacked us yesterday."; 4/30/26, 2:21 PM
IamDevo said...: It is always edifying to compare and contrast.; 4/30/26, 2:27 PM
Iman said...: Eff a bunch of NPR.; 4/30/26, 2:27 PM
hawkeyedjb said...: We may get a useful and happy ending as a result of the Iran war - maybe. But we will never EVER get a train from LA to SF. Not if we spend a trillion dollars.; 4/30/26, 2:28 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: Well our Brylcreem Boy Governor--sometimes aka Gruesome Gavin--isn't stepping away from this heaping smelly pile of nonsense. Some day you'll be lucky enough to travel from Merced to Wasco---as for that high speed rail train between downtown San Francisco and downtown Los Angeles, Newsom is all Emily Litella "never mind".; 4/30/26, 2:29 PM
hawkeyedjb said...: "California High-Speed Rail Authority officials say the project’s future depends on attracting private investors..."

No "investor" would put any money into this fantasy without a 100% government guarantee. Everyone knows this, including the well-paid liars who are in charge.; 4/30/26, 2:35 PM
Ampersand said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/30/26, 2:38 PM
Ampersand said...: As a Californian, I can assure everyone that common sense will never get in the way of spending that benefits the uniparty.; 4/30/26, 2:38 PM
john mosby said...: Excellent stats, Prof. That's the sort of thing that should go in Harper's Index. If of course Harper's wasn't what it is....CC, JSM; 4/30/26, 2:46 PM
Biff said...: As we saw in Afghanistan, pre-announced end dates determined by politics rather than military circumstances tend to get people killed unnecessarily.; 4/30/26, 2:49 PM
Not Illinois Resident said...: So Newsom's Train costs 10 times as much as Trump's War. Sounds like a Vance campaign ad.; 4/30/26, 2:49 PM
Indefinitely Extended Excursion™️ along with $1.8bn of Kleptocracy said...: Does the $25bn include the cost on Israel's side since the US will have to pay for that too? I wonder how many people even know about this and how much the cost will be to us tax payers. https://www.military.com/feature/2026/04/19/emerging-push-extend-some-us-benefits-idf-soldiers.html

$25 billion is a gross underestimate. Actual cost is likely not less than $2.5 billion/day so at least $150 billion of direct and indirect costs for 60 days.

Before the Trump and Bibi got involved oil was $60, the Iranians had no cards and the Strait of Hormuz was open, what happened?; 4/30/26, 2:53 PM
Original Mike said...: $25B sounds like a bargin!; 4/30/26, 2:57 PM
n.n said...: An ethnic Spring would have been cheaper, with more abortions, rapes, tortures, and redistributive change. Basically a progressive process with "benefits" and liberal collateral damage with a notably Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive character.; 4/30/26, 2:59 PM
Mason G said...: The difference between "1" and "2" is that "2" will never be finished, at least as it was sold to voters.; 4/30/26, 3:00 PM
D.D. Driver said...: So even assuming the $25 billion is accurate (and only partisan bobblehead think it is) we are pacing at $12.5 Billion/month or $150 billion/year for this debacle.

Why can't Israel pay for its own defense? Why the fuck is Trump shitting on our European allies for being "freeloaders" but Israel gets to eat and my taxpayer funded trough?

The socialist fuckers in Israel find money to pay for free healthcare for Israelis but can't find the money for their own defense? Fuck that.; 4/30/26, 3:01 PM
n.n said...: $25 billion to abort a multidecadal ethnic Season and force climate change to sustain a viable consensus of the human diversity. There is is a warm and hospitable summer after a Spring of Diversity. Keep going.; 4/30/26, 3:04 PM
Peachypeachy said...: DD do you have an Ukraine 🇺🇦? Tell us the billions of our tax dollars spent by Biden.; 4/30/26, 3:07 PM
mccullough said...: A $40 trillion debt. $25 billion is a sneeze.; 4/30/26, 3:07 PM
Peachypeachy said...: I’m happy to clean up these messes. Israel pays with lives and more.; 4/30/26, 3:08 PM
Peachypeachy said...: The Russian Ukraine war… us pays while the EU does what?; 4/30/26, 3:09 PM
Peachypeachy said...: Note, or noted, lefties here, not interested in CA waste and fraud. Even when it exceeds mind-boggling taxpayer dollars; 4/30/26, 3:10 PM
Fen said...: War becomes necessary when words have failed to resolve dispute. Why would anyone expect an "end date" to be promised or negotiated? Who would broker this agreement, the people who couldn't find a way to avoid war?

NPR is stupid.; 4/30/26, 3:12 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Weapons grade Plutonium can be passed to Joe's Jihadis for local use here in dirty bombs. Let God sort em out.; 4/30/26, 3:15 PM
Ann Althouse said...: What would you prefer — a way for people to take a speedy train from LA to San Francisco or the Republic of Iran prevented from ever getting a nuclear weapon?

You'd take the victory over Iran if both were the same price, but in fact, victory over Iran is (so far) only 11% as expensive.; 4/30/26, 3:19 PM
bagoh20 said...: Any private investor who would put money into the CA Bullet Boondoggle should be denied food and water before their dementia bankrupts the family.; 4/30/26, 3:21 PM
Original Mike said...: "What would you prefer — a way for people to take a speedy train from LA to San Francisco or the Republic of Iran prevented from ever getting a nuclear weapon?"

My thoughts exactly. And that's before even considering that one of them is never going to happen.; 4/30/26, 3:24 PM
Joe Bar said...: $231B buys a lot of plane tickets from LA to SF. That project will never be finished. It is a corrupt hole for union dollars and payoffs to local pols.

$25B is a low price to pay for destroying Iran's war making capability.; 4/30/26, 3:25 PM
Richard Dolan said...: No end date after $25 billion and 61 days! Quel scandale!

Since it's NPR, perhaps best to put this war in context. As for the cost, this is the least expensive war we've had both in terms of money and casualties. Among other things, it's considerably less expensive than US aid to Ukraine. As for its duration, the 61 days (and counting) are concededly longer than the 50+ days of war recounted in the Iliad, albeit with far fewer casualties for the home team than were suffered by the hapless Greeks. But there's no telling how long the Trojan War continued after the killing of Hector.

If NPR wants to complain about American wars that have cost too much and had no end date, better to focus on the War on Drugs, or the War on Poverty, Homelessness or some such endeavor. The Iranian exercise will take less time from beginning to end than any of that, and at a much cheaper cost and with a far more favorable (and definitive) result to boot.; 4/30/26, 3:26 PM
rehajm said...: The ‘high speed rail’ was always intended to be a wealth transfer instrument from US Treasury to Democrats and their supporters. Now irrelevant since widespread entitlement fraud is easier and more lucrative…; 4/30/26, 3:27 PM
J Scott said...: To be clear, they haven't spent nearly anything close to 231 billion on the rail project.; 4/30/26, 3:29 PM
Original Mike said...: "Why can't Israel pay for its own defense? Why the fuck is Trump shitting on our European allies for being "freeloaders" but Israel gets to eat and my taxpayer funded trough?"

Why can't Europe? Iran just demonstrated it has the ability to drop a bomb (soon to be nuclear) on Europe. Israel is expending blood and treasure to eliminate this threat. Europe is being an ass.; 4/30/26, 3:31 PM
narciso said...: Iran has attacked 12 countries as far west as cyprus as far south as diego garcia; 4/30/26, 3:35 PM
Achilles said...: LOL.

How much have they spent on high speed rail in California over 10 years?

Zero miles of track. Zero trains built. Zero passengers. Hundreds of billions they will admit to spending.

China has already bought more oil from us than 26 billion. These people are a joke.; 4/30/26, 3:48 PM
Achilles said...: D.D. Driver said...

Why can't Israel pay for its own defense? Why the fuck is Trump shitting on our European allies for being "freeloaders" but Israel gets to eat and my taxpayer funded trough?

The joooooss!

Israel is a better investment than NATO. Or Learing Centers.

Our investment in shutting down China’s structural advantage in manufacturing is already paying dividends. The joooo haters are just carrying water for Lloyd’s of London.; 4/30/26, 3:54 PM
MacMacConnell said...: How do they calculate $25 billon? Bombs + jet fuel + combat premium pay ? Sans bombs most of the expenses would be the same in training and flight hours ?; 4/30/26, 3:55 PM
Not an oldster. said...: How many women and children were killed to make the highway to nowhere though...?

(I see what you did here. It must be so much easier going through this life when you don't give a damn about life, or other people's lives, eh? Que sera, or me me me mine mine mine... let the good times roll. Fuck them. Life is good for me and mine.)

I don't envy you at all. I like the humanities and caring about living things. You two do you.; 4/30/26, 3:56 PM
Freder Frederson said...: You'd take the victory over Iran if both were the same price, but in fact, victory over Iran is (so far) only 11% as expensive.

If you actually believe that the Iran war has only cost $25 billion so far, I have a bridge in NYC I can sell you. If the war has only cost $25 billion, why on earth is Trump asking for a $400 billion bump in defense spending?; 4/30/26, 3:59 PM
bagoh20 said...: I bet the war spending ends before the Bullet Boondoggle's does, and the boondoggle has been running for nearly two decades already.
I bet more American's working on the boondoggle have died than have died in what is likely the most successful war effort in history.
Imagine being so broken that you would see the worst spending boondoggle ever perpetrated as a better choice than this incredibly successful, essential, and cost effective war. The death-to-America regime would love to have a way to cost us $231B and know that it's just going to go higher. We have own own "leaders" who did this to us. The regime should hire Newsom as their Secretary of War. He's done far more damage to America than any Iranian weapons have.; 4/30/26, 3:59 PM
Freder Frederson said...: Israel is a better investment than NATO. Or Learing Centers.

Maybe if we had more "Learing" Centers, you wouldn't be such an idiot. You might have learned how to spell and the proper use of capitalization.; 4/30/26, 4:02 PM
Peachypeachy said...: Walzian mega fraud is all OK by the left. And when the FBI raids, the Walz fraud,, the asshole takes credit for the raid. The FBI came out and said that wallz has nothing to do with the raids. what a liar
but you left a support Walz . you all voted for him.
and then you whine and wine and wine and wine and how dare we ever help Israel.; 4/30/26, 4:04 PM
bagoh20 said...: "If the war has only cost $25 billion, why on earth is Trump asking for a $400 billion bump in defense spending?"

I don't think there is any way to help you understand this stuff.; 4/30/26, 4:04 PM
bagoh20 said...: "You might have learned how to spell and the proper use of capitalization."

Incredible!; 4/30/26, 4:05 PM
Indefinitely Extended Excursion™️ along with $1.8bn of Kleptocracy said...: To paraphrase Althouse: ‘What is it worth to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, considering the radical ambitions of that regime?’

They haven’t ensured that.; 4/30/26, 4:06 PM
Aggie said...: That's quite the juxtaposition, not so? It's not every day when a war has a more constructive result compared to a project that has managed to create a single unconnected bare overpass in its entire history, at a comparable cost.; 4/30/26, 4:06 PM
Original Mike said...: Freder doesn't know about the Learing Center?
I have to say, I am surprised. I kind of assumed he was better informed.; 4/30/26, 4:07 PM
Original Mike said...: "They haven’t ensured that."

Not yet.
Finish the job.; 4/30/26, 4:09 PM
Mason G said...: "What would you prefer — a way for people to take a speedy train from LA to San Francisco or the Republic of Iran prevented from ever getting a nuclear weapon?"

Might as well ask if people would prefer a way to teleport from LA to San Francisco. That's more likely to become a reality than a high speed rail line is.; 4/30/26, 4:12 PM
readering said...: I won't vote for Newsome in a presidential primary because of the high speed rail madness.; 4/30/26, 4:15 PM
Peachypeachy said...: 1980… Trump said Iran shouldn’t have nukes; 4/30/26, 4:29 PM
Known Unknown said...: Imagine being able to have 10 wars on Iran for the cost of one high-speed train.; 4/30/26, 4:38 PM
Achilles said...: Original Mike said...
Freder doesn't know about the Learing Center?
I have to say, I am surprised. I kind of assumed he was better informed.

Sometimes Freder chooses to be a retard.

Other times he is just stupid.; 4/30/26, 4:39 PM
Achilles said...: readering said...
I won't vote for Newsome in a presidential primary because of the high speed rail madness.

Wow your principles are so impressive!

You are a paragon.; 4/30/26, 4:42 PM
Mason G said...: "Imagine being able to have 10 wars on Iran for the cost of one high-speed train."

I have no doubt leftists could spend that $231 billion, but one thing's for sure- there still won't be a train.; 4/30/26, 4:47 PM
Wilbur said...: Freder Frederson said...
Maybe if we had more "Learing" Centers, you wouldn't be such an idiot.

I took it as Freder's endorsement of Learing Centers, the bell cow of pervasive Leftist fraud and grifting. And I suspect he thinks the Federal Department of Education has done a grand job the last 40+ years.; 4/30/26, 4:51 PM
Mason G said...: "And I suspect he thinks..."

Really?; 4/30/26, 5:01 PM
Joe Bar said...: I asked Grok, and it told me that $231B would buy 500-1000 years of travel between LA and SF at today's rate on airlines.; 4/30/26, 5:07 PM
Mason G said...: Or you could spend it on the choo-choo and have nothing.; 4/30/26, 5:10 PM
boatbuilder said...: If you put an end date on a war, the party which is losing has no incentive to sue for peace, and every incentive to wait it out.

Frankly I don't see why the status quo cannot be maintained for a long time, with the US controlling access to the Strait and turning the screws on the IRGC until they are effectively neutered. Which may or may not be very long.; 4/30/26, 5:36 PM
D.D. Driver said...: Israel is a better investment than NATO. Or Learing Centers.

You know what is a better "investment" than all three? Me keeping my own fucking money and the Israelis paying for their own wars. If they can afford free healthcare, they can pay for their own bombs. Explain how that is wrong. Derp.; 4/30/26, 5:37 PM
boatbuilder said...: And here I was thinking that Freder was just pretending to be ignorant. Wow.; 4/30/26, 5:45 PM
narciso said...: Well hes not pretending; 4/30/26, 5:46 PM
Jim at said...: I kind of assumed he was better informed.

Good one.; 4/30/26, 5:52 PM
Jim at said...: Maybe if we had more "Learing" Centers, you wouldn't be such an idiot. You might have learned how to spell and the proper use of capitalization.

I don't think we'll ever find a more precise example of Freder being completely clueless about what's going on outside of his little bubble.

And then he has the gall to lecture us on being uninformed and/or misinformed.; 4/30/26, 5:56 PM
Mason G said...: "And then he has the gall to lecture us on being uninformed and/or misinformed."

His cats just ignore him so where else is he to go with his opinions?; 4/30/26, 6:29 PM
Ambrose said...: What was the last war that had an end date as it was being fought?; 4/30/26, 6:34 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Yeah, I don't believe the $25 billion figure is correct, but it was good enough for NPR and NPR is no friend of Trump.

But more importantly, I don't believe the California train will ever be completed, not for $231 billion and not for a lot more. It's just a question when they'll admit they're not going to do it. It was all a huge waste. The progress thus far in Iran is already valuable.; 4/30/26, 6:36 PM
Achilles said...: D.D. Driver said...

Israel is a better investment than NATO. Or Learing Centers.

You know what is a better "investment" than all three? Me keeping my own fucking money and the Israelis paying for their own wars. If they can afford free healthcare, they can pay for their own bombs. Explain how that is wrong. Derp.

Your problem is you think this war is against Iran.

I was just making fun of you because you are like all the other retards who are just shoveling shit for Lloyds of London and you don't even know what you are talking about.; 4/30/26, 6:40 PM
Achilles said...: MacMacConnell said...

How do they calculate $25 billon? Bombs + jet fuel + combat premium pay ? Sans bombs most of the expenses would be the same in training and flight hours ?

The 3 carrier groups are a wash. They run on nuclear reactors and they can't turn those off. They cost just as much to park in the straight of Hormuz as they cost to park in Maryland.

The combat missions cost about the same as the training missions the AF pilots have to fly to maintain their hours.

All of the people complaining about the "cost" of the war support spending on things that are way dumber that letting the carriers keep China from shipping the Mullahs missiles and really they are just mad that A US President is actually doing something to help the United States for once.

We haven't even spent 20% on this war compared to what Obama gave the mullahs in cash.

None of these people really have a soul or a brain.; 4/30/26, 6:47 PM
hawkeyedjb said...: “But more importantly, I don't believe the California train will ever be completed, not for $231 billion and not for a lot more.”

The people managing it don’t believe so either, but they don’t care about the train. They care that the money keeps flowing.; 4/30/26, 6:55 PM
J Scott said...: Reading that wikipedia page about the HSR project (largely pro) is just a masterclass in the forms of governmental evasion and goal shifting.; 4/30/26, 6:59 PM
Mason G said...: "The people managing it don’t believe so either, but they don’t care about the train. They care that the money keeps flowing."

Just like the learing center and hospice folks.; 4/30/26, 7:10 PM
Original Mike said...: "The people managing it don’t believe so either, but they don’t care about the train. They care that the money keeps flowing."

Yep. It's the Learing Center writ large.; 4/30/26, 7:17 PM
gilbar said...: How much do MOST wars cost?
How much do MOST trains cost?; 4/30/26, 7:52 PM
narciso said...: Its north hadleyville (classic simpsons); 4/30/26, 7:59 PM
Lazarus said...: Private high-speed rail is still on target for connecting Rancho Cucamonga with Las Vegas, isn't it? The cost is much less than Gavin's Folly and it's not eating up valuable farmland, so far as I know.; 4/30/26, 8:59 PM
Jim at said...: His cats just ignore him so where else is he to go with his opinions?

We have a cat. He's great. Don't dismiss cats.

If he had cats? They'd shit in his Cheerios, and I'd give 'em treats.; 5/1/26, 12:49 AM
Fred Drinkwater said...: Update from the heart of Silicon Valley, California...
The largest water reservoir in the area, by almost an order of magnitude, is (was) Anderson. About 15 years ago the dam was declared a seismic hazard, with potential to flood important parts of the east valley and San Jose, so the lake was drained. The original rebuild timeline was a half-dozen years. The dam is currently being rebuilt, with an estimated additional 12 years before completion, giving a grand total of 27 years (if one is optimistic) of down-time.
Welcome to California! Welcome to Silicon Valley! Land of perpetual drought, land of frequent power outages! Envy of the World!; 5/1/26, 10:41 AM
Fred Drinkwater said...: Oh, of course, the HSR is NEVER going to get within 50 miles of San Francisco, no matter how long we wait or how much $ the politicos siphon off.; 5/1/26, 10:42 AM
Mr. T. said...: PedoFredo said,

"Maybe if we had more "Learing" Centers, you wouldn't be such an idiot. You might have learned how to spell and the proper use of capitalization."

Who needs AI when the jokes write themselves...; 5/1/26, 3:02 PM
Mr. T. said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/1/26, 3:02 PM
Peaceful warrior said...: Achilles, I don’t follow your argument to DD. Shipping was moving before the war. The Strait became a crisis because the war escalated and Iran used Hormuz as leverage. Maybe you think the long-term goal is to eliminate Iran’s ability to threaten shipping, but then say that. As written, you’re acting as if the war solved a shipping crisis rather than helped create one.; 5/2/26, 7:37 AM