Sequester Grounds Blue Angels 341
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."
good. (Score:5, Insightful)
This is a GREAT place to stop spending money we don't have. If ticket sales can't cover the costs, fuck 'em.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:good. (Score:3, Insightful)
So... we had a flying team to subsidize random private businesses? No wonder we have problems.
Re:good. (Score:5, Insightful)
Great idea mate! That would really start to make some budget savings.
I think you've just found the solution!
Re:good. (Score:2, Insightful)
How many businesses really depend on shows that usually are only there about twice a year or whatever?
Sure its a great bonus, but if your business depends on it, you may have been investing wrongly. Especially since you claim local businesses, not ones that would follow the airshow wherever they go.
Re:Local businesses will feel this (Score:2, Insightful)
From the rest of us: You're fucking welcome we have been paying for this so your businesses can make a profit for their PRIVATE companys.
Lets stop doing that shit now. because socialisim is bad m'kay.
Re:good. (Score:5, Insightful)
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. (Score:2, Insightful)
Private profits for socialized losses...
yeah... we need less of that bullshit now.
sucking money out of EVERYONES pocket for a few tourist related companies to make money. fuck you.
yeah (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah don't stop the trillion dollar wars.
Don't stop the money printing.
Don't stop the money wasting.
Stop the stupid air shows, close down airport towers..
Austerity for all except the bankers, the war mongers blah..
Re:good. (Score:5, Insightful)
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. (Score:2, Insightful)
Just to be fair... could you also describe the positive influence of those illegal aliens if there are any ?
I'd imagine they are atleast exceptionally cheap workers who wont mind crappy working conditions. How important for the economy are they really in that regard ?
It would also be interesting to actually discuss how money could be spent to help them in ways that will also pay of for everyone else in the future or atleast reduce future costs.
Re:good. (Score:4, Insightful)
No, but they are a good PR show, and they can easily boost support for the armed forces. 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.
Else, what's he gonna get? A recruitment goon at his school who may or may not woo him with ... well, more or less empty promises, and evening news telling us how yet another bunch of our kids died and how some others piss on enemy's graves while taking pics of it with their iPhone.
Navy budget is $180 billion (Score:5, Insightful)
"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!
They're cheaper because they HAVE to be! (Score:1, Insightful)
"Stop peddling that argument. Private solutions are never cheaper."
Navy is not in the entertainment business. If they're running Blue Angels at a loss, then they should stop. Sell the planes, sack the pilots. If it makes a profit, cancelling them would be dumb. So they're running Blue Angels at a loss.
How about Navy boat trips? If they're so much cheaper than private boat trips, I'm sure they'll put the competition out of business!
If Army is so cheap, how come I can hire a clown for my daughter birthday from the private sector? Where's the Army clown here to entertain my daughter for cheaper, yet still more profit? How about a pony ride from the cavalry division?
Navy are not in the entertainment business, they have no business running airshows at a loss anyway. The planes need to go, the pilots need to go, that should be done by the private sector.
USA is not a socialist planned economy where gravy train military gets all the money it wants and runs theatres and shows and pony rides and whatever. Those planes are not fit for military use and withdrawing them, shows the Navy confirms that!
Re:good. (Score:4, Insightful)
What could be a better PR mouthpiece for the US military than Fox News?
Re:good. (Score:4, Insightful)
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:If it's huge for business, they should f-ing pa (Score:1, Insightful)
i think you're confusing socialism and capitalism
socialism is what obama is doing... forcefully taking money of private citizens and distributing it
capitalism is private citizens engaging in business for voluntary payment by consumers
the business owners are behaving like capitalists should... the government voluntarily supports their business... the businesses don't force the government to do things for them
if the government is corrupt to the point where influence can be bought, then the government has too much influence and should be shrunk so that there is nothing to corrupt
capitalist businesses are no different to individuals... they act in their own interest (being that of their owners), which is no different to those that receive income from welfare, food stamps, etc or those that would pick up a greenback off the street and keep it for themselves
they don't do it because they are corrupt and greedy... they do it because they would be stupid not to take a bite when the government dangles a carrot in front of them
Re:good. (Score:3, Insightful)
What could be a better PR mouthpiece for the US military than Fox News?
All those programs/movies showing how Obama single-handedly shot Bin Laden?
All the "USA, fuck yeah!" military programs on Discovery?
The "Serviceman comes home" Ford Mustang commercials?
etc.
A few "Join the Army" stands in low-income-area shopping malls will fill the ranks more than the Blue Angels ever will.
Re:good. (Score:5, Insightful)
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. (Score:3, Insightful)
If you had stayed out of Iraq, Hussein would have started selling oil for Euros, which would have been the beginning of the end for the petro-dollar. You could not afford not to invade Iraq.
Re:good. (Score:5, Insightful)
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. (Score:5, Insightful)
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:Washington monument gambit, again. (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Navy budget is $180 billion (Score:2, Insightful)
The budget will never be balanced until after an economic collapse happens. I didn't really believe this myself until after the sequester happened.
Have you ever seen one of those mock newscasts where the news anchors and reporters are reporting an alien invasion? They do a pretty good job of making it surreal in many cases. Arne Duncan put on a show like a disaster was already in progress with regard to teachers being fired as he spoke. Just like the mock newscasts, was all bullshit, but it created a media shitstorm anyways.
Now you have the republicans trying to go ahead and approve the budget increases anyways (it's currently stalled in the senate.) They did a good thing by not allowing it to happen, but then they did a 180 and now we're screwed.
I mean if reducing the deficit increase is this hard, it's basically impossible to create a surplus without another dot-com bubble to at least give us a temporary budget surplus.
Government bankruptcy with a resulting crash of the dollar is going to lead to an inevitable economic collapse. And because we're in a global economy, it won't just be limited to the US either, several Eurozone countries as well as Japan (who is doing worse than anybody in terms of debt) will all fall with it as many of them have even worse debt problems than we do.
Re:good. (Score:5, Insightful)
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. (Score:4, Insightful)
I can think of a fantastic way for the US military to reduce recruiting costs AND increase recruiting.
Operate ethically. Stop going to war for lies and treasure. Demonstrate (not just talk about) care for servicefolks and vets.
I almost applied to enlist in the AF as a teenager, but in the end my conscience couldn't support it. I wanted to support my country, but the politics of the last half century of American warfare has made most of the country appropriately skeptical. I was worried that I'd be used as a murderbot and then dumped if I break. My recent experiences talking with some new vets has confirmed my worst fears, too. I still think I made the right choice, but it makes me sad as well.
If the military thinks advertising and PR can "fix" their recruiting problems without altering their actual behavior, they're acting like every huge corporation - actions don't matter, only spin. It's sickening.
Re:good. (Score:4, Insightful)
yes, thats it. mod down the truth. davester is clueless, the flights ARE already paid for as training. jackknife is correct.
Re:good. (Score:5, Insightful)