Harry Reid held up the FAA funding bill so he can keep giving money to his airline buddies. He then helped pass the FAA bill with the help of President Obama in such a way that would make Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and Karl Marx stand up and give Crybaby Reid a standing ovation.
From the AP: On some days, the pilots with Great Lakes Airlines fire up a twin-engine Beechcraft 1900 at the Ely, Nev., airport and depart for Las Vegas without a single passenger on board. And the federal government pays them to do it.
Federal statistics reviewed by The Associated Press show that in 2010, just 227 passengers flew out of Ely while the airline got $1.8 million in subsidies. The travelers paid $70 to $90 for a one-way ticket. The cost to taxpayers for each ticket: $4,107.
Ely is one of 153 rural communities where airlines get subsidies through the $200 million Essential Air Service program, and one of 13 that critics say should be eliminated from it. Some call the spending a boondoggle, but others see it as a critical financial lifeline to ensure economic stability in rural areas.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AVIATION_SHUTDOWN_RURAL_SUBSIDIES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-08-11-21-42-37
There is a reason why these folks live Ely: the quiet, small town life. Think about it, Ely averages less than 1 passenger a day and the U.S. taxpayer is paying planes to fly empty. Talk about wasting fuel and causing pollution.
But then Harry has to save a little face up in Ely. Last year, Harry personally killed a coal electric plant that would have employed 200 permament jobs and hundreds of construction jobs.
So, Harry is throwing a really small bone to the folks up in Ely, but they still hate him in Ely.
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