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.

[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.

[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.

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.

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.