The FAA sequester lie

[cjjtulsa]

Hidden inside the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which created budget committees in both the House and Senate plus the "non-partisan" CBO, is a little-known tool called baseline budgeting which effectively gives automatic increases to a departmental budget every year without justification or debate. It ensures that governmental spending grows by certain amounts every year. When some politician gets in front of a mike and talks about how they've cut government spending, what they've inevitably done is cut the rate of increase that was given to the department by that Act in 1974.

This creates an firestorm of howling and angst from those whose oxen have been so grievously gored. None of the sequestration involves actual cuts, in my understanding. They're simply automatic cuts in the rate of growth of a department's budget, and every department is under direct orders to make them hurt as much as possible. (You see the same thing in local elections. When a school board wants a bond issue passed, they always talk about cutting teachers so all the soccer moms are totally panicked that Johnny and Susie are going to be homeschooled or vagrant)

This Act in 1974 was overseen by some short feller from somewhere .... name of Albert if I remember correctly.

Absolutely - and it's why I can't understand how anyone can't see this as a complete farce. "We cut the amount of increase we were going to get over what we operated on last year, so now we won't be able to operate, just like we did before the reduced amount of increase." WTF?

It's amazing how stupid people are that many fall for this foolishness.

 

[caojyn]

It's amazing how stupid people are that many fall for this foolishness.

I imagine that more than a few politicians don't even know about this.

 

[bgdrhntr]

My sis works at the FAA and from what I can tell the furloughs were a total sham created by BHO to make the republicans look bad. He wanted the sequester to hurt as bad as it could. Seems not to be working very well for him.

 

[n2sooners]

His standard plan of action is to fail and then blame that failure on others.

 

[SMS]

Absolute sham.

First off, I am a glorified construction worker...for the FAA. I work mostly on projects and systems that aren't on-line yet. I also do airfield improvements and other projects on on-line systems that affect the safety of flight, but I do not land planes. I am NOT furloughed....but controllers are. That by itself is proof of the artificial nature of this "crisis".

Second. In the last 36 hours I flew from Seattle to OKC, then OKC to San Francisco and back again. I experienced ZERO flight delays.

The controller furlough is artificial and the effects of it are being overstated and overplayed.

 

[Weatherby]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...-end-faa-furloughs-now-goes-to-obama-to-sign/

Why is there legislation to end it if there were no furloughs? It passed overwhelmingly with republican and democrat support.
The vote in the house was 361-41.

"Earlier this week, lawmakers from both parties urged the Obama administration to postpone or cancel the furlough of air traffic controllers, with some accusing the FAA of playing politics as the cuts contributed to massive delays at airports across the country."

 

[SMS]

Why is there legislation to end it if there were no furloughs? It passed overwhelmingly with republican and democrat support.
The vote in the house was 361-41.

There are furloughs. My point is, the furloughs were politically targetted at the groups within the FAA that would draw the most attention and phony outrage.

There is also speculation that the controllers union (NATCA) is agreeing to/party to this theater in a long-game effort to get some of the non-union contract-controller air traffic control towers out of the game. The union only represents a fraction of the controllers at the hundreds of contractor run towers in the coutnry.

Some say the NATCA hopes to shut those non-union/non-fed towers down short term and create public outcry, thereby allowing the FAA to march in and save the day with full-time, union controllers. Increases the union base and increases the FAA's justification for budget.

 

[Hobbes]

In the last 36 hours I flew from Seattle to OKC, then OKC to San Francisco and back again. I experienced ZERO flight delays.

Well you're part of the problem then.

If you weren't tying up air traffic control flying unnecissarily all over the country we wouldn't need so many air traffic controllers.


JK

 

[Weatherby]

There are furloughs. My point is, the furloughs were politically targetted at the groups within the FAA that would draw the most attention and phony outrage.

There is also speculation that the controllers union (NATCA) is agreeing to/party to this theater in a long-game effort to get some of the non-union contract-controller air traffic control towers out of the game. The union only represents a fraction of the controllers at the hundreds of contractor run towers in the coutnry.

Some say the NATCA hopes to shut those non-union/non-fed towers down short term and create public outcry, thereby allowing the FAA to march in and save the day with full-time, union controllers. Increases the union base and increases the FAA's justification for budget.

Good explanation. I'm tracking,now.

 

[Wheel Gun]

We're being spun like we've never been spun before. I'm dizzy.