Sequester Grounds Blue Angels

SchrodingerZ writes "The Blue Angels squadron, known for their intricate and death-defying aerial demonstrations, has canceled all scheduled air shows for the rest of the year. The United States Navy, which controls the Blue Angels, has reported that the grounding comes from the massive rollbacks in spending, due to the 85 billion dollar sequestration given by the federal government. In a statement from the office of the Commander Naval Air Forces in San Diego, the Navy said, 'Recognizing budget realities, current Defense policy states that outreach events can only be supported with local assets at no cost to the governmen.' Currently, the cost of an air show is above $100,000. This story came just a week after the announcement by the Air Force that their Thunderbird shows will also be canceled."

Comments

good.

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a GREAT place to stop spending money we don't have. If ticket sales can't cover the costs, fuck 'em.

Re:good.

[cheater512]

Great idea mate! That would really start to make some budget savings.

I think you've just found the solution!

Re:good.

[mjwx]

This is a GREAT place to stop spending money we don't have. If ticket sales can't cover the costs, fuck 'em.

But how will the US government continue with their policy of bread and circuses without circuses?

Re:good.

[clemdoc]

Put LSD in the bread.

Re:good.

[sjames]

If we had stayed out of Iraq, we could have saved more than a decade's worth of the sequestration. The F35 cost us another 15 years worth so far. So we're up to 25 years worth without a single person feeling a pinch.

Throw in taxing the 1% as much as the middle class pays and we're flush with cash.

Re:good.

[crutchy]

What could be a better PR mouthpiece for the US military than Fox News?

Re:good.

[crutchy]

They work cheap, but that's only good for people who don't seem to care for the long term.

wrong... that's all anyone cares about in the long term (including consumers)

proof: how much stuff in your house ISN'T made in China?

Re:good.

[davester666]

And why hasn't NASCAR been paying for those military flyovers for every race [which also were just cancelled]? Or is it 'payment in kind' by mentioning the military as part of the starting ceremony?

Re:good.

[Joce640k]

Even if the kid may not be material to become a pilot, the very least he'll take away from the air show is that he was well entertained by our "men at arms" and that the army (navy, whatever) is a good thing.

Or they could just rerun Top Gun on TV - same thing (except more people will see it).

Re:good.

[dkleinsc]

The F35 cost us another 15 years worth so far. So we're up to 25 years worth without a single person feeling a pinch.

I generally agree with your sentiments, but this one isn't quite true: The people that would definitely feel the pinch if we killed the F35 are all the people who currently work on designing and building it. And that makes a difference, because a fair number of Congresscritters get their seats by promising to bring home the military pork spending. Even Congresscritters who's stated position is that we need to "cut spending".

Re:good.

[Lawrence_Bird]

I am seriously shocked that someone thinks that the military should spend millions of dollars of taxpayer funding on public relations. It is bad enough that the services spend a boat load on recruitment using glitzy tv ads during major sporting events at a time when they reject the vast majority of applicants.

If people want these types of airshows they should pay a ticket price which covers the cost. In the same manner, no active duty soldier should be participating nor should any equipment attached to the armed forces be used. There are plenty of ex-pilots who could do this for pay and using retired equipment purchased from the government.

Re:good.

[jacknifetoaswan]

Going to airshows and military installations as a kid inspired me to try to go to the Naval Academy, in the hopes that I could fly. As it turned out, I couldn't get the Congressional appointment that's required, and it's nigh on impossible to fly if you didn't go to a service academy, so here I am, building weapons systems for the military to use, rather than actually using them.

They're a great recruiting tool, and they help to inspire legions of young men and women to join the armed forces when they're older.

Re:good.

[jacknifetoaswan]

The flyovers are typically done as part of routine training hours flights. Pilots and their air crews are required to spend a minimum number of hours in the air, to keep up with their training requirements. This includes fighter pilots, as well as bomber and cargo aircraft pilots. That's why sometimes you'll get a formation of F-16s, and sometimes it'll be a lone B-52. The flyovers might be 1/100th of what a typical training flight would include.

Re:good.

[AlamedaStone]

Yes and local businesses who depend on these air shows for tourist income will flirt with failure and pit more people out of work, fucktard.

So let's take the money and use it to start fixing our massive national infrastructure problems. Because... you know. Hiring people to do work that needs doing seems like a more efficient way to put people to work than showing off fancy airplanes.

Re:good.

[phlinn]

That's Bull shit If they confiscated 100% of the top 1% it would just barely close the deficit this year, and it wouldn't have in 2012. $1.324 trillion AGI - $0.318 trillion income tax already paid would have been less than the 1.1 trillion 2012 deficit. The sequestration is chump change in the budget sadly.

Re:good.

[phlinn]

Forgot to add: even with the sequester, total federal outlays are projected to be larger in 2013 than they were in 2012. I really get tired of DC pretending reductiong in future growth are the same as actual cuts.

Washington monument gambit, again.

[jcr]

There are no cuts in the so-called "sequester cuts". A cut is when you spend less than you did previously.

What the Navy's doing here is known in DC as the "washington monument gambit". Any time a bureaucracy doesn't get as much money as they want, they pick out the most popular thing that they do, and claim that they can't do it anymore due to lack of funds, in hopes that this will garner public support for their whole pork barrel. For the department of the Interior, it's closing the washington monument. For the white house, it's cutting off white house tours.

The truth is, if the navy could afford the Blue Angels last year, they can afford it this year.

-jcr

Re:Washington monument gambit, again.

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, while the federal government as a whole is only slowing the rate of increase, the defense department specifically does have real cuts.

Of course your point is still correct-- the blue angels are being targetted to make it publicly visible.

Re:Washington monument gambit, again.

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

You could cancel the entire defense department and chop out only half a year's deficit.

Your normal inter-party memefest blaming each other fails, that's how out of control spending is. These idiots are talking about saving a trillion over 10 years, borrowing more than that every year.

You could tax 100% of the income of the rich and get about $500 billion a year more than now. Assuming they continue to work for 0$ a year. You can't balance without taxing the middle class, which won't happen. And even that won't be enough to begin to cover the $40 trillion in still-unfunded retirement liabilities of all retirement funds from SS to county and city promised pensions -- promised by politicians long gone to buy labor peace, knowing they wouldn't have to deal with it.

Local businesses will feel this

[Chewbacon]

My town has 2 Blue Angels shows a year and its huge for business, especially the show on our beach. It's one of the busiest weekends on the beach as people will try to get out there but end up sitting in traffic all day and some miss the show doing it. I hope all businesses who benefit from air shows are coming up with other events to support themselves. I'd actually still go just for a civilian air show (don't get me wrong, the Blues are cool) since you see different planes, pilots and stunts every year.

Navy budget is $180 billion

[Anonymous Coward]

"studies estimates nearly $2 billion dollars goes to illegal aliens annually"

Navy Budget is $180 billion, and that's just the Navy part, not the army, Airforce, NSA CIA etc.

At some point you gotta bite the bullet and trim it, not 'pretend trim it', not 'increase it this time (again) and promise to cut it in future', CUT IT!

Suppose illegal immigrants DO cost $2 billion, and you find a way to save that without shifting it to mortuary costs, and road cleaning services and border patrol costs. YOU NEED TO CUT $900 BILLION A YEAR off the budget! Get a grip, stop making excuses, stop blaming other, CUT SPENDING, RAISE TAXES, get on and fix it already!

Sequestration did not cut budget

[therealkevinkretz]

The sequestration portrayed in the press as reckless budget slashing is anything but. In actuality, it's a slightly lower rate of increase.

For 2013, the announced 'sequestration' is $84B in a $3600B budget which is an increase of about $140B over last year's. So by the official numbers, the 'cuts' are actually an increase of ~$56B. To go on, half of that $84B decrease actually doesn't take place until later years but is represented in 2013 via accounting sleight-of-hand. So in the end those crazy sequestration cuts - closing air-traffic towers, grounding the Blue Angels, and ending White House tours - are really a $100B increase over last year.