Don't want to be evil? Better get rid of the Google plane
Lefty think tanks Essential Action and the Institute for Policy Studies have a new study out titled “High Flyers: How Private Jet Travel is Straining the System, Warming the Planet and Costing You Money." It implies some not-so-nice things about jet owners and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin — even if they are left-leaning, Prius-driving friends of Bono. According to the report, private jets negatively impact:
- The environment, burning enough fuel to power a car for a year in just one hour.
- Public safety: Even though private planes incur the same air-traffic control costs as commercial airliners, commercial planes pay for 95 percent of FAA air-traffic control costs in $2,015 in taxes per flight, while just accounting for 73 percent of air control capacity. Private planes only pay $236 per flight in taxes.
- Tax revenues: Private plane buyers can take a larger deduction their first year owning a new jet.
- The war on terror: The Department of Homeland Security IDs private planes as a particular risk.