Your concerns are valid, but the ones in charge (city councils, county boards, etc.) also understand that their kingdoms will die if growth stops. It's the viewpoint of a cancer cell. Look at the big picture for Stockton as an example - yes, they made some stupid moves regarding bonds and local facilities and Extra Nice Pensions, but what killed them was the sudden stop in building due to the economic crash. The only thing that will save them is resumption of that growth, regardless of what it means for water and other issues. Nobody in CA or the US (or the world, really) has yet figured out how to maintain an economy without growth, and especially with negative growth which is what will probably happen in 100 years whether we figure things out or not. It'll be much nicer for our grandchildren, and even some of our children, if we can figure it out at least a bit. One way is to make progress on major capital investments that can support an economy that is based less on massive road use and fossil fuels. Bottom line on HSR: if we don't make substantial progress on it over the next 20 years, the means to accomplish any of it will vanish.

Yes, I'm having a pessimistic night.