If you've read about the sequestration scheduled for March 1 — a.k.a. the sequester, a.k.a. the Spendocalypse — then you've definitely read about the potential consequences those spending cuts would inflict on the experience of boarding and riding an airplane. Longer lines! Fewer flights! Doomsday delays! So let's not further fan the fire ignited by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's two-page press release in which he warns that "flights to major cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco" might be delayed by an hour and a half if the sequestration kicks in. Instead, have a look at the chart below, compiled by the Pew Charitable Trusts, showing which sectors would be hit hardest by cuts to federal grants to states — amounting to $427.6 billion over the next ten years.

(Click here for a larger version.)

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J.K. Trotter