Ah, self-reliance...
Black Hills Airport/Clyde Ice Field has received enough funding to complete a parallel taxiway that will stretch the full length of the runway.
The airport was given a $3.15 million federal grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for construction of the taxiway.
...Airport manager Ray Jilek said that the funding is enough to take the project to completion. Lawrence County will be expected to pay 2 percent of the project's total cost, and the state will chip in 3 percent. The rest will be covered by the FAA [Mark VanGerpen, "Airport Receives $3.15M to Finish Taxiway Project," Black Hills Pioneer, 2011.09.20].
95% funded by Uncle Sam—how nice! Funny that I haven't heard a word of criticism about this tyrannical federal spending of our grandchildren's money from the local Tea Party.
Airport officials say the added taxiway is not intended to increase traffic. However, all the newsmakers flying in to visit the new Spearfish headquarters of the Madville Times will have less chance of bumping into each other on the runway. Now Kristi Noem can fly in from her federally subsidized airport in Watertown for an interview with me.
The Black Hills Pioneer story on the federal handout features a hardhat from Muth Electric running a trencher at the airport. The construction jobs this project creates are the same kinds of jobs that the House Republicans nuked for a couple weeks this summer when they refused to pass a routine FAA funding bill. And people tell me government can't create jobs. Ha!
Or everybody could have just flown into Rapid City and saved $3.15M.
If my informant was correct, most of the money for running Madison's municipal airport comes from the Feds. If that dries up, it would pretty much have to shut down.
Actually, this is a good thing, the taxes collected on tickets allow for small rural airports to help connect our communities to the outside world, and yes, they do play an important role in aviation safety, as when you're 10k ft up, and things go wrong, it's probably nice to know that a modern airfield is waiting somewhere below, not 400 miles away in the next biggest metro.
Now, if only we could support our light-rail network to build upon those rural economic connections.
If I remember right, there is a federal aviation fuel tax specifically for this purpose. It is a user tax. Furthermore, the industry supported a large increase in their taxation a few years ago specifically to make these kinds of upgrades in airport infrastructure and the air traffic control system.
The inference it is as presented as spending our grandchildren's money is at best misleading. The industry proposed it on itself to be used for this purpose.
Cory, I get you want to be shill for the government and government spending and then use what government does well (as it does in this case or the users wouldn't have ASKED for an increase) to criticize those who want the government to do less but you really should pick better examples. You actually feed the conservative position.
Chris- There are few things that comfort me when 10K feet up, but somehow this feels like it might. My psychiatrist thanks you.
Cory, and $1.3 million is borrowed from your children, who did not vote on it, or have yet to create the wealth needed to pay off the debt. So much for the democratic process.
Sibby, the cost of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars was paid for by the grandchildren of those who instigated them as well. These things have a way of working themselves out. Just count on your grandchildren to be smarter than you are (because they will be), and focus on today's problems. And remember, every Congress gets to make it's own spending decisions. They are not bound by the previous Congress or Administration. That's what the people who are writing your talking points keep forgetting to tell you.
Here's a little humorous quote from SNL to help you get it all in perspective. "When I die I hope people will say of me, 'Boy, that guy sure owed me a lot of money.'" — Jack Handy. (He was kidding, of course)
If they tax themself to pay for it is ok. But I have a suspicion that a little is added to it. When the feds give South Dakota its annual allotment for transportation, it gets divided up by the powers that be. When Sioux Falls wanted fourty million to move the rail tracks out of town so we could have a parking lot on the plains where they then wanted the new events center, I knew that when even Republicans wanted to spend money like that, that the federal budget had no chance. Thune ran for congress saying no pork, not even for south dakota, and later wanted billions in guarantees for railroad through this state when he was a consultant for them and trade water projects with California to get our pork and against health care when he got a lot of money from them, then even those who start out saying that Washington will not change them are vilnerable to becoming part of a corrupt situation. He started out studying to be a preacher, why did he stop doing that, did he make mistakes there also. We have gotten the attitude that we can spend if it is fed money and it is ok if it creates a job, and our economy is to big to fail, so we think we are to big to fail. Our economy still has a lot of good in it and we still have a lot of people with a good work ethic and we can still do a lot of good things and pay for them. We just have to step back and make our decisions as if we are making them for another states benifit and they make decisions for us so we do not let the selfish greed come in. Local control gets real bad when they are spending someone elses money.
Roger,
I know they tax themselves. I don't know if it is from aviation fuel, landing fees, or per head tax. But pretty sure it is fuel tax.
And rather than "adding" to it, it is more likely they are not getting it all back as promised. This is the case with regard to SEC fees on stock transactions, FEMA insurance, patent fees (until Obama recently corrected this), and a host of other user's fees that Congress/President have been raiding for years.
Troy, hang on: are you suggesting that the whole $3.15 million came from South Dakotans and other folks flying into Spearfish? Did this airport really support itself with its own air traffic?
And how can I be a "shill" for government? Government is not some separate corporate enemy. If I'm shilling for government, I'm shilling for us. I'm shilling for our ability to govern ourselves.
And if I'm shilling, I'm not getting paid nearly enough.
CH,
I am suggesting nothing of the sort. The industry supports being taxed and giving the responsibility for the best spending of the money to the FAA. If they determine the best place to spend the available funds raised from the taxes in Spearfish to accomplish the macro-best interests of aviation, I don't question it.
The concept is similar to the gas tax in pursuit of a organized and efficient road transportation system.
Maybe the disconnect is you think conservatives believe in a rigid, minimalistic role for government. This is not true. They do want smaller government but that doesn't mean there is no federal role, especially in the case of a user tax. Broadly, conservatives generally support user taxes and generally oppose redistributive taxes.
"Sibby, the cost of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars was paid for by the grandchildren of those who instigated them as well."
And could the ones who instigated the wars also be the ones who funded them?
Besides that point, what we are discussing year is not the funding of a war. So my point still needs to be addressed:
$1.3 million is borrowed from your children, who did not vote on it, or have yet to create the wealth needed to pay off the debt. So much for the democratic process.
Troy, the main disconnect here lies in the claim South Dakota conservatives make to self-reliance. A whole lot of users in other states are still subsidizing users in South Dakota. That's not self-reliance.
And when a federal agency decides how best to spend tax dollars, you "don't question it"? Really? Who are you and what have you done with Troy Jones?
This is yet another reason why the US and SD are insolvent. We cannot afford paying 95% on 5 airports within an hour of Rapid City Regional. If the tax payers of Lawrence, Butte, Meade, Custer, and Fall River Counties think they need airports then they alone should pay for them.