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What is this?
Subsidies need to end
Published Friday, June 20, 2008
The news was disturbing Thursday. A Minnesota-based airline went to State lawmakers seeking $50 million in state aid to help it stay in the air in the midst of rising oil prices.
But this time it wasn’t Northwest Airlines. It was Sun Country Airlines.
Sun Country hosted a dozen members of the state Senate's Business, Industry and Jobs Committee, including Chairman James Metzen, DFL-South St. Paul, at its Mendota Heights headquarters Wednesday.
Sun Country says that it has a great economic impact on the state of Minnesota by creating $225 million in annual consumer savings by providing an alternative to Northwest Airlines’ airfares and by contributing to the economy through more than $40 million in annual employee salaries
There can be an argument made that it would be in the best public interest to provide help to Sun Country during these tough economic times.
Lawmakers need to be mindful of the hundreds of millions of dollars it has loaned Northwest Airlines and the implications that Northwest’s proposed merger with Delta might have on the repayment of those loans.
If times continue to get tough on airlines a bankruptcy could be in the picture, or even worse, the small airline could go out f business. In those scenarios, the $50 million could be gone forever.
We must remember that $50 million to an airline is sure to be a tough sell to the public, as well. Why help an airline with relief for high gas prices when there appears to be no relief for you at the pump?
A better use for the $50 million might be helping the people of Minnesota with a cash payment to help us cope with oil prices.
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Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by hometown (anonymous) on June 20, 2008 at 12:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I believe the stimulus checks to the tune of 68 billion dollars has already been distributed.
In light of that, I must say that Sun Country has always been loyal to Minnesota which currently is more then we can say for Northworst and Delta.
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