That’d be fine by me, but it would be the end of rural America

jonknee on July 24, 2011 at 12:28 PM

I think rural America would be JUST FINE!!! After all, rural America is where our original values came from.

Why does it make sense to tax everyone, send the money to Washington, just so the states have to BEG for Washington to send it back…after Washington rakes off a huge fee for abusing us???

All this loopy scheme does is enable Washington to blackmail and control us, and to threaten us with “loss of highway funds” every time a state wants to do something different. The states should handle most of the road and airport maintenance, and most of the money should be handled locally WITHOUT any Washington interference whatsoever.

Sending money for state roads to Washington first should be stopped: a lot of this foolishness is unconstitutional…by the intent of the Constitution even if not by the letter of the Constitution. Washington supremacy is a seriously flawed substitute for true Federalism.

So I say: LETS HAVE MORE OF THESE INSTRUCTIONAL AND REVEALING SHUTDOWNS!!!

landlines on July 23, 2011 at 11:16 PM

That’d be fine by me, but it would be the end of rural America

The taxes are collected from airline ticket sales… So the tax payers are airplane passengers, the very people who benefit from the “subsidies”. Just like the gas tax going to roads (though they don’t cover enough to pay for it all).

jonknee on July 23, 2011 at 9:05 PM

Why does it make sense to tax everyone, send the money to Washington, just so the states have to BEG for Washington to send it back…after Washington rakes off a huge fee for abusing us???

All this loopy scheme does is enable Washington to blackmail and control us, and to threaten us with “loss of highway funds” every time a state wants to do something different. The states should handle most of the road and airport maintenance, and most of the money should be handled locally WITHOUT any Washington interference whatsoever.

Sending money for state roads to Washington first should be stopped: a lot of this foolishness is unconstitutional…by the intent of the Constitution even if not by the letter of the Constitution. Washington supremacy is a seriously flawed substitute for true Federalism.

So I say: LETS HAVE MORE OF THESE INSTRUCTIONAL AND REVEALING SHUTDOWNS!!!

Seriously, lay it out for me. Why should everyone’s tax dollars go to subsidizing this specific line item? If it’s so important it should be trivial to show me why we MUST make this less expensive to the few that use it; at a cost to everyone else.

Either that or I guess I don’t get it. If a plan involves getting the government out of… well, pretty much everything. Then wouldn’t something need to be drastically special and important to get subsidies?

How does this materially differ from the Amtrak subsidies; why is is better or more useful, and what justifies the expanse?

Maybe there’s an answer, and maybe it’s a good answer. But you need to have one in order to keep spending money here when you’re broke, don’t you?

gekkobear on July 23, 2011 at 2:38 PM

The taxes are collected from airline ticket sales… So the tax payers are airplane passengers, the very people who benefit from the “subsidies”. Just like the gas tax going to roads (though they don’t cover enough to pay for it all).

No drops in ticket prices

US Airways and American Airlines raised fares to offset the tax savings.

-

how dumb can ya be?

The current FAA reauthorization expires at midnight tonight, Friday, July 22, 2011. Congress has extended the FAA’s authorization 20 separate times without controversy. Without an extension, the FAA will be forced to furlough nearly 4,000 employees and will be unable to move forward on important airport construction projects and other critical airport activities.

The link also lists nine airports that will have project fundingdelayed. Not actual being shovled projects. Then there are all the states that have their hands in the Aviation Trust Fund. Just why states get grants from ATF is unknown.

Apparently ATC is unaffected.

Most of the actual inspection and actual airplane work is by Designated Engineering Representatives, private employees who are specialists at what they do.

Okay, one agency on short rations. Lots more to go.

There will be some long term repercussions from this, with particularly fierce impact on smaller, rural airports.

Like This One

The smaller rural airports don’t get any of that gravy money. They get non-scheduled at best. Usually General Aviation only. A good thing.

OTOH there are a buncha subsidized airports like the one above that have no traffic reason for their size or facilities. Imagine 50 miles of six lane interstate to, but not thru, a town of 20,000.

Wonder if there will be a suspension of IFR only for all commercial flights. IIRC military controllers took up some slack in 1981.

There will be some long term repercussions from this, with particularly fierce impact on smaller, rural airports. Those funds are required for repairs, construction and some scheduled maintenance items.

So we should encourage people to pay the “real” full cost of things like oil, ethanol, train travel, etc. by ending subsidies.

But not for rural airports, because… Why?

Seriously, lay it out for me. Why should everyone’s tax dollars go to subsidizing this specific line item? If it’s so important it should be trivial to show me why we MUST make this less expensive to the few that use it; at a cost to everyone else.

Either that or I guess I don’t get it. If a plan involves getting the government out of… well, pretty much everything. Then wouldn’t something need to be drastically special and important to get subsidies?

How does this materially differ from the Amtrak subsidies; why is is better or more useful, and what justifies the expanse?

Maybe there’s an answer, and maybe it’s a good answer. But you need to have one in order to keep spending money here when you’re broke, don’t you?

Too bad it wasn’t the FCC.

tinkerthinker on July 23, 2011 at 9:29 AM

or EPA :-)…am sure you won’t notice a drastic change in your air quality overnight coz of EPA shutting down :-)…actually the air around us will get more breathable then, when they shut up (less CO2 emission :-) and shut down :-)…

Keep Jazz, Tina, and Patrick Doing posts on a regular basis. Broaden the appeal. Not all of us love Snark in the evening.

birdhurd on July 23, 2011 at 12:11 PM

I’d like to see some conseratives added to the mix.

Too bad it wasn’t the FCC.

tinkerthinker on July 23, 2011 at 9:29 AM

Take a tip take a lesson
You’ll never win by messin’
With the fellas at the freakin’ FCC

The ticket tax is one of the few things in government that works in a reasonable fashion. The ticket tax and taxes on aviation fuel go to the Airport Improvement Fund. Money from that fund is used only to fund airport capital improvement or repairs.

Why? Let the airports decide what kind of fee they can charge passengers.. as said, if the airports can’t come up with their own fee to maintain their properties, then do they really need to exist?

There will be some long term repercussions from this, with particularly fierce impact on smaller, rural airports.

You know, the ones that shouldn’t exist.

If you want to live in a place where it’s not economically feasible for someone to build an airport, then you shouldn’t get a subsidized airport.

ernesto on July 23, 2011 at 11:31 AM

If suburban development allows me to live well away from the inner-city nuts, I’m all for it!

Some things are just not going to be paid for anymore, maybe this type of thing is just the first on the chopping block.

Hiya Ciska on July 23, 2011 at 9:21 AM

Absolutely. We have MASSIVE suburban and rural infrastructure that makes little sense from a planning perspective, and costs a ton of money.

They become very territorial and defensive.

ExpressoBold on July 23, 2011 at 11:19 AM

Hey, you’ve just described my marriage! :)

Hah! Two snoots on one island – a marriage made in hell!

OldEnglish on July 23, 2011 at 10:02 AM

.
I can envision twice daily press conferences by one or the other, whining incessantly about some issue important only to themselves, arguing between themselves about the pecking order, the perquisites available, the accommodations, the taxes the other pays, the benefits the other receives, yadda yadda yadda…
.
Commies really don’t get along with each other because there is never enough of anything to go around once much less to have a surplus. They become very territorial and defensive.

Get a job!