Originally Posted by
Jecain7
EAS is a waste of tax dollars. Places in Alaska may "need" EAS, but the state of Alaska should pay for it, not the lower 48/Hawaii. States/communities that want it should pay for, not federal tax dollars. Does it create jobs for lower time pilots? Yes, I've benefitted from it and still do. But it doesn't mean that it's right or should continue to exist. I doubt it'll get chopped from the budget because congress is gonna congress.
The "need" to fly as a Yupik is because Andrew Jackson "needed" to make the Cherokee walk to death. What Alaska got is needed to assuage the conscience of what the U.S. did to native groups in the lower 48 and Hawaii. America was built on these big decisions to land and labor grab, and the costs you are complaining about are sunk costs as reparations. Many would say it is exactly right and should continue to exist in perpetuity. You are right about exactly one part of your argument: Alaskans on the Hill will not cut one penny of those programs, despite their incessant preaching about the desirability of small government or Federal Overreach. Oh, and maybe the part about you benefiting too.