J.T
08-17-2011, 10:51 PM
Seriously, wtf? I mean, it's like Washington puts forth an effort to be as bass-ackwards and moronic as possible when it comes to spending money.
Almost everyone is aware that the federal government pays farmers not to grow certain crops. But not many know that taxpayers are also being forced to pay airlines to fly empty planes. It’s true. According to the Associated Press (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AVIATION_SHUTDOWN_RURAL_SUBSIDIES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-08-11-21-42-37), the $200 million federal Essential Air Service (EAS) program subsidizes airline service to less populous areas of the country; and because it does so on a per-flight — not per-passenger — basis, airlines sometimes fly empty planes back and forth just to keep the free funds flowing. EAS was created in 1978 as an outgrowth of airline deregulation — deregulation, like most words, not meaning the same thing in Washington as it does outside the Beltway.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/congress/8595-federal-program-pays-airlines-to-fly-empty-planes
Can anybody justify this?
Almost everyone is aware that the federal government pays farmers not to grow certain crops. But not many know that taxpayers are also being forced to pay airlines to fly empty planes. It’s true. According to the Associated Press (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AVIATION_SHUTDOWN_RURAL_SUBSIDIES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-08-11-21-42-37), the $200 million federal Essential Air Service (EAS) program subsidizes airline service to less populous areas of the country; and because it does so on a per-flight — not per-passenger — basis, airlines sometimes fly empty planes back and forth just to keep the free funds flowing. EAS was created in 1978 as an outgrowth of airline deregulation — deregulation, like most words, not meaning the same thing in Washington as it does outside the Beltway.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/congress/8595-federal-program-pays-airlines-to-fly-empty-planes
Can anybody justify this?