Crater Lake snow plowing might fall victim to federal budget cuts
CRATER LAKE, Ore. (AP) — The federal budget cuts known as the sequester are threatening an annual rite of spring in Oregon — plowing the snow that has buried the roads at Crater Lake National Park all winter.
Acting Superintendent Vicki Snitzer said Tuesday the park has to cut 5 percent from its $5 million budget, and one place being considered is the snowplowing budget.
She says monitoring natural resources, such as wildlife populations, may also be reduced, along with summer ranger talks and tours.
Located at the crest of the Cascade Range, Crater Lake is Oregon's only national park.
Plowing Rim Drive and the North Entrance Road typically starts in May.
Snitzer says one way to look at it is that summer would just start a little later at Crater Lake this year.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
Wow, I had no idea these kinds of budget cuts have been around to decades.......
Last time I was at crater lake was in the mid eighties in June and the road  was still closed around the lake then.....
Just one more example of crying wolf...... again.Â
isn't it amazing how a  2.2%  reduction in the growth of the federal spending  is so far reaching .....Â
hell, everything from shots for kids, steep military cuts, deep medicare cuts, no more money for  white house tours,  reduction in  money for schools, and now  potentially no money to plow the roads  around crater lake.
I gotta hand it to the left, they sure do have a good marketing (fear mongering) Â team.Â
I love it how so many people who were crying about the sequester cuts not being enough ("They're not even cuts!") are now whining about how they much they hurt.
And the whole Why Are Lesbians Fat? study:Â http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/03/nih-lesbian-fat-study/63007/
As usual, it's right wing misinformation. The study exists - it's studying the effects of sexual orientation and obesity for all people, especially lesbians and straight men.
'All of which is to say, these headlines would have been accurate as the inverse: "Obama administration spends $1.5 million to figure out why straight men are fat."'
@Max Quinn You're right max, only the right side does this. The left never puts out false information. They do nothing wrong EVER.........Are you seriously that dumb? It's the entire government that does this not just one side.
@Jeepers @Max Quinn This isn't about the government (which, of course, lies like a rug). It's about conservative media - Drudge and company were the ones putting out the fat lesbian study. Do left-wing groups put out misinformation - sure. But, there a reason that Fox viewers are the least informed demographic out there.
I'd be curious to know where the balancing point of these cuts would be. I was there in late June last year, and the north entrance would definitely have not been opened w/o plowing at that time. If the roads aren't open until later in the summer (perhaps after the busy July 4th weekend), it will likely discourage many from even attending CLNP this year. If so, that would naturally reduce, perhaps dramatically, the tourist money spent at the concessionaires inside the park, as well as the obvious gate fee. After factoring in the marginal cost savings in running those operations w/fewer tourists, will the reduced revenue be worth it vs. these road clearing cuts?
My version of global warming will take care of the snow. Â It's called summer. Â It comes every year and has since before Crater Lake was a park. Â It's not like it's a major highway necessary for commerce, so let Mother Nature do her job. Â She's been doing it quite well for thousands of years. Â Of course, the politicians don't like doing it this way. Â It saves the taxpayer's money.
@Shadow "It's not like it's a major highway necessary for commerce......"  Well, except it's the only road that makes Crater Lake National Park accessible to the half-million annual visitors.  You realize those visitors provide a tremendous amount of tourist revenue to Oregon, right?  You're one of those 'cut off your nose to spite your face' people.  BTW, when's the last time you went to Crater Lake? Â
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@Welfair Chick Hey -- I have two ex's too.  Although I've always said the first was just practice and doesn't really count.  He'd be the one I ran over with my car.  Oops.
Obama is spending tax dollars to finance Illegal immigrants college costs while cutting funds for our veterans college needs.
Obama is not cutting funds for his pet projects!
Obama is not cutting the costs of his family vacations!
Obama is not cutting costs that he is sending to his muslim brothers!
Obama is only cutting funding where it will hurt Americans the most!
Obama is such a TRAITOR to America!!!
@Freedom1267Â Keep Drinking the Tea
@Freedom1267
Or we could say this more accurately;
Congress (led by Republicans) is (are) not cutting funds for his (their) pet projects!
Congress (led by Republicans) is (are) not cutting the costs of his (their) family vacations!
Congress (led by Republicans) is (are) not cutting costs that he (they are) is sending to his Muslim brothers!
Congress (led by Republicans) is (are) only cutting funding where it will hurt Americans the most!
Congress (led by Republicans) is (are) such a TRAITOR to America!!!
Remember, the purse strings are in COGRESSES hands, not the President. He can sign legislation (and even be overridden) but he cannot write it. He is also only peripherally in charge of how money is spent, most of that is also determined by law (that congress writes) so if you don't like the way your dollars are being spent, thank your legislature.Â
@Repoman What are you smoking? Maybe you should cut back a bit!
@Freedom1267@Repoman
If I am smoking anything it wafts from you.Â
Like I said, congress writes the checks, the president just signs them.Â
If you don't like how your money is spent, elect a new congressman.Â
Now if you don't like how the military is being run, or the national bank, then change the president. That and putting people in front of congress to manage agencies (again if you don't like who is voted in blame your representative), are about all the president really has power over.Â
Everything else is illusion (or delusion as it might be).Â
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@Dr. Rawdog I'd walk from the parking lot down to the lake in a heartbeat if they'd just install an escalator to get back up to the top.  But I'll bet you already knew that......
Spending $5 million a year FOR A LAKE that has been there for 7,700 years and DID NOT NEED $5 million a year FOR 7,650 of those years.
Put an arrowed sign on the trail-head reading "CRATER LAKE THAT WAY.......SNOW-SHOES ADVISED......,ENJOY YOUR 10-MILE HIKE".Since the word is out from the 0bama administration that agencies need to cut things that hurt the public this is really to be expected.
The park service has to cut 5% while the reduction in spending was only 2% so one can easily see that the public is being punished on purpose.
But the government has enough money to study why lesbians are fat.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/feds-spend-15-million-study-why-lesbians-are-fat
@RalphCramdenÂ
Ah, you saw that too.  I can write  the conclusion for free; they're not fat because they're lesbians, they're lesbians because they're fat.
@di_da_is_alpha Or perhaps they're lesbians because of....."men" like you?
@SundownerÂ
Maybe.  I'm not into the Rosie O'Donnell types, so I suppose they could fall into a  hopeless pit of heart-broken depression and end up  joining  the other team.
@di_da_is_alpha
That would be my hypothesis also.
Gotta make sure the little people feel the tiny little cut in the budget INCREASES!
@sargeratorsucksdonkeysÂ
Let's assume you're right (and for the most part you are) about no increase being a "cut".Â
You do know there is a thing called inflation right? That goods and services purchased with a dollar today have a higher dollar value tomorrow right? Maybe that could account for the fact that budgets increase?
Or how about the irony that government is now required to BUY services from private vender rather than provide them to "reduce government size" and because of the requirement those businesses make money that actually costs taxpayers MORE than if the government did it themselves (no additional overhead no need for profit).Â
Or my favorite, the economy of scale. When government was bigger (by proportion of the population) and did more actual stuff (like build bridges instead of paying someone else to) all of the things that were expensive were cheap because of volume (like health insurance and retirement). But people wanting to make government smaller made it just that, smaller. Now the government has less buying power and pays more for the same thing without the ability to use that power to lower costs.Â
Then let's talk about lowering costs. it was people who often claim to want less government and more competition who don't allow the government to compete one-to-one with private agencies to lower the costs of goods and services it needs. Things like not being able to negotiate prices for Medicare and prescription drugs. Things the Republicans demanded be part of what otherwise would have reduced costs, instead increased them.Â
All in all the government spends a lot of money, but we get a lot more from those dollars then we would have if we have tried to the to the market for it. because if the market truly were the best way to go, we would ride in private busses (not public) and it would cost a lot less to take a plane (because during regulation it did but for some reason now unregulated airlines can't make a profit).Â
All in all we got more services for our dollar and a smaller government UNTIL Regan decided to âmake government smallerâ by making it bigger.
@Repoman @sargeratorsucksdonkeys You are correct that Reagan actually increased the size of government. However, the size of today's government (or at least its budgets) is massive in comparison. These deficits are out of control. Democrats complained about the large deficits under Reagan but we never hear a peep from them under President Obama. We are approaching WWII levels of spending in relation to GDP.
My main complaint is the borrowing. If we want to spend at these levels then we should pay for that through taxes. That's one area that I actually agree with Democrats on. If we are going to spend it, we need to pay for it. Something tells me though that people will begin to revolt if we actually made them pay for what we spend each year. I'd love to see a balanced budget amendment. But no one form either party has the guts to do it. That's part of the reason I don't identify with either party. Both suck.
@Repoman @sargeratorsucksdonkeys By the way... We will look like Greece once the interest rates increase. That scares the crap out of me.
@Repoman @sargeratorsucksdonkeys I can't argue with a bit of that. I would like the president to have a line-item veto. We wouldn't get so much crammed into a bill to pay for completely unrelated pork. Maybe we should try to implement a "Log Rolling" amendment similar to what Oregon law preventing multiple unrelated items stuffed into a bill. That will never happen though.
@sargeratorsucksdonkeys@Repoman
We almost had a balanced budget amendment (under Clinton).Â
But the Supreme Court overruled it. They also struck down the "line item veto".Â
And the first dollars spent in our current deficit were spent by Nixon. It grew under Carter, ballooned under Reagon, blew up with Bush I (who tried to kill it with taxes but they instead killed him) was almost gone under Clinton and then became the monster we have today starting with Bush II.
But youâre right; the US would look like Greece if we were required to pay for the things we want.
@Repoman @sargeratorsucksdonkeys Whoa there buddy -- it sounds as though you've taken the name of The Reagan in vain.  I believe that's a mortal sin (they got rid of venial sin, right?).Â
@Sundowner@Repoman@sargeratorsucksdonkeys
You made me look up venial sin. LOL
Yeah well I can take other names âin vain tooâ. Think about this, Democrats were in charge starting WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and if you include cruise missiles, even Afghanistan (Clinton).Â
Republicans have ended most of those wars (Coolidge, Eisenhower, Nixon), so whose the "war mongering" party?
So there is a second sacred cow I have slain, that Democrats believe in peace. If that were the case half of those conflicts would not have started during their watch.Â
@sargeratorsucksdonkeys
Yeah, but the feds have money for this ....... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2292264/Public-health-study-spends-1-5m-quarters-lesbians-fat.html?ICO=most_read_module