Is it time for Congress to kill the Essential Air Service program?
Created to last 10 years, the program that guarantees air service to small towns is now 31-years-old and showing no signs of dying. The program cost $24 million in 1990 -- but it now costs six times that, and most cities are no closer to breaking even than they were a decade ago. On average, flights are 75 percent empty from cities you've probably probably never visited and may not have even heard of. Critics call it a government charter that you pay for, but never fly. Passengers who use the program typically pay less than $200 a ticket, yet taxpayer subsidies for that same passenger routinely are hundreds -- sometimes even thousands -- of dollars. Critics say the program is out of control. Subsidies were supposed to be no higher than $200 per ticket for cities less than 210 miles from a sizable airport, but in practice, the limit is not enforced. Consider these ticket prices and taxpayer subsidies: -- Cape Girardeau, Mo., to St. Louis: ticket price $189, taxpayer subsidy $1,939. -- Glendive Mont., to Billings: ticket price $233, taxpayer subsidy $2,526. -- Alamogordo, N.M., to Albuquerque: ticket price $192, taxpayer subsidy $2,270 -- Harve, Mont., to Billings: ticket price $233, taxpayer subsidy, $2887 -- Ely, Nev., to Denver: ticket price $300, taxpayer subsidy $4,504. The program serves roughly 3,000 people per day -- mostly businessmen, who critics argue can and should pay more for their flight. Instead, Congress continues to increase the taxpayers' portion of the ticket. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/13/tracking-taxes-essential-air-service/
Politics - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Sounds like it has run its course...
2 :
sounds like more corporate welfare to me.
3 :
Probably those are places where congressmen live. Clearly, it should be killed. All government programs shold be killed, unless they are very obviously necessary.
4 :
It is way past time for that to be killed but then the John Murtha Airport would just be a land mark for pork, hey great idea! I didnt know you could fly commercial from Cape to St Louis wow its only an hour and 45 min drive! Up 55! or an hour the way I drive
Title : Is it time for Congress to kill the Essential Air Service program
Description : Is it time for Congress to kill the Essential Air Service program? Created to last 10 years, the program that guarantees air service to sm...