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Collins opposes proposed budget from president

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today released the following statement after President Obama released his budget for Fiscal Year 2017.

“President Obama has proposed a liberal wish list instead of a budget,” Congressman Collins said. “The president’s spending proposal shows how out of touch he is with fiscal reality and the priorities our country needs to address. His proposal fails to enact meaningful entitlement reforms while raising taxes on hardworking families, increasing our nation’s deficit, and never balancing.

“The president’s proposed oil tax will increase the cost of gasoline by 24 cents a gallon and cripple already struggling families and businesses. Western New Yorkers need pro-growth policies that will jump-start stagnant wages and increase economic opportunities for the middle class. Unfortunately, President Obama still harbors the flawed belief that we can spend our way to economic growth. House Republicans are working on a budget that balances and provides the pro-growth solutions Western New York needs to get back on track.”

Jason Crater

Obstructionist Republican Votes Against Everything Obama Proposes

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Feb 10, 2016, 2:50pm Permalink
Daniel Jones

I really wish that the Dems in the big counties (or even the smaller ones) would come up with a credible candidate against him. The numbers may not be in the district's favor but it would be an excellent opportunity for an up and comer to at least make the race competitive, and even if they lose, they get their name in the public consciousness for a future campaign.

Feb 10, 2016, 3:45pm Permalink
david spaulding

" raising taxes on hardworking families, increasing our nation’s deficit, and never balancing."
Chris, do you really believe there is a way to lower taxes, to lower our nation's deficit and to balance the budget? Oh you do have a way, "meaningful entitlement reforms", gotcha.
More worthless goobly gok politico talk that does nothing but take up space in your press release.

Feb 10, 2016, 5:20pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

I love how Collins exaggerates: “The president’s proposed oil tax will increase the cost of gasoline by 24 cents a gallon and cripple already struggling families and businesses." Under the prior Republican administration people struggled with $4.00 per gallon. The current average cost per gallon is $1.80. Explain the struggle. Corny Collins should poke his nose into the real fuel cost debacle. How come jet fares haven't come down along with the cost of jet fuel? Let's hope that Collins can get his nose out of the Koch brothers' scripts for unimaginative hacks long enough to see some real problems.

Feb 11, 2016, 2:14am Permalink
Ed Hartgrove

C.M.
I believe the jet fares are controlled by the airlines industry, not Congress. Just a guess on my part

Feb 11, 2016, 5:43pm Permalink
Howard B. Owens

"... who regulates the Airline industry???"

Consumers.

Think the price of an airline ticket is too high? Don't buy a ticket.

Feb 12, 2016, 5:41am Permalink
Kyle Couchman

Really, in a normal world I would agree Howard, but typically the Airline industry would just apply for a bailout if consumers did that. Like the car manufacturers and the banking industry did..... So the end result is the same.

Feb 12, 2016, 1:17pm Permalink
Kyle Couchman

Thank you Chris, I only dipped into the research before responding to Howard. I had seen references to such things but the articles I read were mostly about 1978's deregulation (which was mostly about safety and training standards) and then how it slowly after 90's started to degrade, then the 9/11 disaster and economic blow that re-established defacto re-regulation and bailouts.

Feb 13, 2016, 5:32am Permalink
Howard B. Owens

Let's stipulate that airlines get tax breaks. Let's stipulate that this is horribly, horribly wrong.

Let's stipulate to every single complaint you might have about airlines and the airline industry. You're 100 percent right in each and every complaint, save one, and that is the one that touches on profits.

Let's stipulate that they're making a higher profit because of lower fuel prices without lowering airline ticket prices.

The only regulation on ticket prices that exists and should exist is what customers are willing to pay. To that one simple issue, which is all my previous post was about, makes every other point irrelevant.

Unless you believe the government should set prices, then the choice is up to the consumers.

I just purchased a round trip ticket to NYC for later this month for $145. I'm happy with the price. In fact, I'm especially happy because I thought I would have had to pay more and I would have paid more if required to make the this particular trip.

Price is a negotiation between seller and buyer. Sometimes the negotiation is explicit -- I want $100. I'll pay $50. How about $75? I'll pay $65. OK, deal." Or implicit, "I want $100." And the consumer answers that request yes or no. If no, the seller eventually gets the message that buyers no longer think that price is fair. If buyers are willing to pay it, regardless of the amount of profit for the seller, the price is fair.

Profit has no impact on the question of whether the price is fair. If airlines make 10 percent profit on the price of a ticket, the price is fair. If they make 100 percent profit, the price is fair so long as people are willing to pay it. There are lots of alternatives to that price -- don't travel, find a cheaper fare with another airline, take a bus or a train. You don't have to pay the price.

The airline has no obligation to lower prices that customers are willing to pay so long as they're willing to pay it in sufficient numbers to fill planes enough to make it profitable to taxi them down the runway.

You can buy a Hermes Rose Sheherezade Crocodile handbag for $75,000. That's probably at least $70,000 of pure profit (account for marketing and fewer units sold, raising the cost of capital expense on each handbag).

If people are willing to pay $75K a handbag, the price is fair, regardless of the profit margin.

Don't like bailouts? Don't like tax breaks? Stop electing the politicians who give those things away. But that's a completely separate question from how much an airline ticket should cost.

Feb 13, 2016, 3:25pm Permalink
Daniel Jones

I honestly would prefer that airlines start using their profits to improve their service and start adding amenities to flights. When businesses take in profits, they improve their products, not immediately start dropping prices. Flying has always been expensive.

Feb 15, 2016, 1:29pm Permalink
david spaulding

C&P..... Unless you believe the government should set prices......... Howard the government does set prices all over the spectrum of employment. They dictate wages, they dictate benefits, they dictate family medical leave. State government dictates policy to school boards to village and town boards. The government dictates the price of cigarettes for cripes sake. While I do agree that you should be able to negotiate prices, it is a tough process when dealing with an industry that has a monopoly on services. The cards are stacked against the consumer. I'll show 'em as I walk to dallas for my next vacation.

Feb 15, 2016, 1:59pm Permalink

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