Originally Posted by
EMB120IP
It's nice to see the caring nature of Man at it's best. I'll sum up this thread in a few short words...."I don't care if this affects anyone...because it doesn't affect me". Just remember, Karma exists no matter what religion you are.
My tax dollars go to support a Beech 1900 flying one or two people out of a tiny town that people can either drive to a larger airport from or choose to move away from if it's that inconvenient for them. This does effects me.
Originally Posted by
wmarti31
If this happens, you do know that many pilots, FA’s, ramp agents, CS agents, etc. could possibly end up loosing their jobs?
Don’t you (or didn't you) work at Lakes?
I am quite aware of how many could lose their jobs. Working at Lakes I had this same discussion with many of our own passengers! A majority of them agreed it was a huge waste of money once they found out all the flying was subsidized. I told them I wished the program was gone even though it would put me out of a job. My principles don't change just because I'm benefiting from something that goes against them.
Originally Posted by
DENpilot
Not to mention it is a domino effect to others, workers at these smaller airfields, lost revenue to carriers like UA and F9, airport tenants, etc...
Some people don't think before posting on here. EAS is important, especially for places like Montana where air service is few and far between.
I think UA and F9 will do just fine without the handful of pax Lakes brings to DEN. You are arguing that the government should subsidize business that shouldn't be there in the first place because it's not sustainable. That's just not the way I lean politically. As for EAS being important to Montana, that's an interesting opinion. My question is how important is OLF or GGW or HVR to the rest of the country? Doesn't amtrak go to a majority of those EAS towns as well? Isn't Amtrak also government subsidized? How many government subsidized travel services do these people need?
Originally Posted by
MrBigAir
Have you ever actually lived in a poverty-stricken town with EAS service and realize how important it is to that town to be connected to the the national air transport system?
Have you ever flown tragically sick kids out of their small isolated towns to medical care in the "big city" that they can't reach by car for a price they can afford?
You probably haven't flown local entrepreneurs who rely on EAS to meet potential investors, business partners, and clients further afield, either.
This irks me to no end. When are we as Americans going to stop thinking about how to screw the other American and realize we are only shooting each other in the back? We sit isolated on our big continent... guess what- it's a big, populated world. Americans helping Americans will make this country stronger. Where is our loyalty to each other, as Americans?
And learn some math. If you think this is an "insane" waste of money you have little perspective.
Once again, the point is being missed here. I don't hate people in small towns or wish ill-will on them, I just think government subsidy for air service to these small towns is an inappropriate waste of tax dollars. The interstate commerce clause in the constitution is the most abused clause in there and I'm sure that's where the government is magically finding the authority to do this but it's rubbish.
As for sick people, they can find all sorts of ways to get out of town to get medical help. In fact, I think there are businesses out there that specialize in exactly that kind of flying. Entrepreneurs that rely on EAS seem to be few and far between and their travel plans really aren't my concern as a tax payer. In fact, if they're so entrepreneurial, they will probably move out of that small town when they realize it's not a great place to do business from.
You think I'm out to screw Americans and not help them and I think we just have different views on how to help them. I'm fully aware of how big the world is and how isolated this country has become. You guys can all attack me all you want but it makes you look small and unable to think critically and discuss issues.