Budget cuts will cause air travel 'calamity', Ray LaHood warns

[Redfairen]

Source: The Guardian

The Obama administration has issued its strongest warning so far that that the looming sequestration budget cuts will cause "calamity" for air travellers.

Transportation secretary Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman, became the latest senior voice to express concern about the $85bn sequestration cuts that are due to start March 1. He made a surprise appearance at Friday's White House press briefing and called for both parties to work together to head off the cuts.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) faces $600m in cuts that will lead to the closure of close dozens of control towers and the elimination of overnight shifts at others, he said.

.......

LaHood warned Washington that politicians phones would be "ringing off the hook" once angry constituents start experiencing the chaos he expects to ensue. "Why does this have to happen?" he said.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/22/us-taxation-us-politics

[jberryhill]

1. But everyone has been boycotting air travel since last Thanksgiving

[Warpy]

2. Then he needs to take a long look in the mirror

to find the cause. He also needs to figure out just why Republicans ever thought this was a good idea or why they thought it would frighten Democrats into ending Social Security and Medicare, which was the obvious aim.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

3. Hopefully, this will fuck up all the pols who fly in and out of DC every week.

[DallasNE]

4. I Could Only See This Happening If

Sequestration drags on for over two weeks because they should be able to suspend road construction and other similar projects while maintaining close to normal service for air travel. Now, it they close control towers that shuts down the airport causing other layoffs and support services to suffer shutdowns, having a snowball effect. Amtrak should be kept open in the Metro markets while some cross country routes are shut down - bus service can handle much of that traffic. Being smart about thinks can delay the calamity for a couple of weeks anyway. After that, all bets are off. And it is all so Facebook executives (and others) can get the government to pay for their stock options with tax credits. That's insane.

[dipsydoodle]

5. Good

Less CO2 in the atmosphere.

[lib2DaBone]

6. Budget cuts will cause air travel 'calamity'

Ya.. well how 'bout cutting Billions from TSA?

Private Security Guards make $8 an hour... TSA makes what, $16-18 an hour? Do we really need TSA? (Thousands Standing Around".

[quadrature]

7. welcome news

less air traffic
clearer skies.

everybody wins

[christx30]

15. I wouldn't win

I have a ticket to fly from Texas to New Hampshire to see my kids for the first time in over a year and a half. Those people need to find a way to fix this problem, or none of them are worthy of the jobs we put them in.

[timdog44]

8. I can only think, good.

Travel would then become by fast trains. Which would provide for job creation. Or bus travel. Business would be conducted by skype or however that would be done. Less planes flying over suburbs who did not want the air ports in the first place. Airports could be converted to solar collecting points or wind farms for energy production. Of course I am an old fashioned democrat.

[nobodyspecial]

11. If the government isn't funding anything, where are all these trains and buses going to come from?

Is the government going to run the wind farms? With what money for capital investment? Are we going to turn public airports over to corporations? You have a nice dream, but it's nothing more.

[timdog44]

12. Sorry.

I am a dreamer.

[Kolesar]

14. Our county is going to subsidize an airport for a flight school and a few dozen parked planes...

...owned by aviation hobbyists. There is another small airport ten miles away that duplicates all of those services.

They should sell the airport and develop it as an industrial park and/or residential. It is near Lake Erie and on the bus routes. It would be a great place to live.

[Diclotican]

9. Redfairen

Redfairen

Why will the republicans close down the government - to make a statement about debt - when they KNOW it will hurt the same people they claim to representing..

They play a very, very dangerous game, with the welfare, and wellbeing of the whole Nation - and it will cost them dearly when it comes down to count.. If the republicans really believe, they can close down the government, without any responsibility, they are dead wrong......

This is just barbaric form of "I want it my way - or the highway" for the rest - the republicans of today, act in ways even toddles, who have a bad day would not act...

The american people deserve to show what the republicans really do - and to show how badly they are governing the nation..

Diclotican

[Hard Assets]

10. Disband the TSA, and retrain all the "officers" and unionize them 100%

Israeli style profiling does the job.

No need for the backscatter. Kerick needs all of it shove up his bum.

[Kolesar]

13. The airlines should pay for air traffic control

Raise the tax on jet fuel and aviation gas. Why should the public subsidize some stock broker's exotic vacation trips?

[magical thyme]

16. instead of cutting air traffic control, which prevents

the real risk of planes crashing into each other, why not cut tsa, which prevents the paranoid GOP neocon fantasy risk of exploding diapers and depends by suicide infant and elderly bombers?

That could increase business for the airlines at the same time, when people stop fearing having their toddler's and granny's private parts groped.