Flights are delayed at major East Coast airports

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: Flights are delayed at major East Coast airports as sequester-related furloughs begin

[NE2]

Poolitics.

[Brandon]

Poolitics.

Got that right - it is a bunch of crap.  These cuts could've come from somewhere else, not essential transportation infrastructure.

[NE2]

These cuts could've come from somewhere else, not my backyard!

[NE2]

Daily Kos: Flight delays hit business travelers, giving Republicans a new target for their sequester whining

As predicted, sequestration is causing flight delays, thanks to furloughs at the Federal Aviation Administration. As administration officials have repeatedly explained, because the FAA's budget is so heavily dedicated to staff, there's really no way to shift enough money around to avoid furloughs. The result, starting this weekend, included delays caused by staffing issues at John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Los Angeles International Airports, at a minimum.

So Republicans were first outraged when air traffic control towers at small airports closed because of the sequester. Now they're outraged that it's causing delays at big airports, but they still support sequestration even though apparently they think every one of its visible effects at the FAA is a partisan outrage inflicted on the nation by the president.

First the Republican outrage focused on White House tours. Then it focused on small air traffic control tower closures. Now, business travelers in major cities. Meanwhile, all those furloughed FAA workers are losing a big chunk of their paychecks, families are being denied housing assistance, kids are being kicked out of Head Start programs, and college students are losing financial aid and work-study funds–and Republican outrage is nowhere to be found.

[Brandon]

This topic is a bit OT, IMHO for this board, but...

I notice the discussion is all one way.  Any outrage from them over the fact that these cuts are being made by the White House, not Congress (either the Republican House or Democratic Senate)?

The White House has made the cuts specifically to hurt, not to cut the fat that needs to be cut.  It's been disgusting members of Congress right and left (R and D).

[Alps]

a) The cuts came from pretty much everywhere, which is the best way to do it (you can't argue your pet project was targeted unfairly)
b) It's barely a drop in the bucket, really.

[kkt]

I notice the discussion is all one way.  Any outrage from them over the fact that these cuts are being made by the White House, not Congress (either the Republican House or Democratic Senate)?

It's Congress's job to make a budget.  They didn't do it.  So instead we have the lame sequestration, that cuts everything equally no matter how important it is.  Obama doesn't have the authority to pick and choose where to cut.  If you don't like it, pressure your congresscritter to make a budget.

[pctech]

Nothing new here, everyone wants the Feds to cut spending, unless it's "their" program of course. (cut or tax the man behind the tree, not me) It's the congress's job to authorize and fund a budget. How many years has it been since we've actually had a budget? We've had continuing resolutions and now the sequester. It's a shameful neglect of responsibility on both sides of the isle.

Mark

[formulanone]

Can't tell for sure if it's been weather, lack of planning, not enough air traffic control, or general  incompetence, but I've been late on a lot more Fridays lately. The airlines typically bundle an additional 20-30 minutes into flight times to make up for this, but I can't say for sure if it's due to budget cuts or general incompetence (or the fact it's increasingly difficult running an airline).

We'll see (hopefully, not many furloughs are scheduled on Fridays...)

[jeffandnicole]

In general, there's a lot of delays at East Coast airports anyway, which often lead the nation in air travel delays.  For as much as I know, the delays could simply be normal delays one sees everyday, but the media is trying to pin it on furloughs now.