The stated rationale for the flight shutdown is “because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have air traffic controllers,” according to Transport Secretary Duffy.
10% of flights have been cut in 40 major cities. The result so far is a huge surge in car rentals and train bookings. That’s not a good sign. In the holiday season, millions of Americans take to the roads? To say nothing of the costs, the added risks on the roads, etc.
Typically, the administration is blaming the Democrats by default. The impasse that caused the government shutdown hasn’t budged. Neither the shutdown nor the air traffic control staffing problem are anywhere showing signs of resolution.
As usual, playing rubber duckies with America’s fragile, penny-pinching, overloaded Federal systems doesn’t work at all. It never has. When they stop functioning, a lot of other things stop, too.
Decades of parsimonious self-righteousness and “wars on waste” have led to generations of unrealistic cuts and systemic failures.
Excuse a slightly terse summary of the shutdown. The shutdown is based on a failed appropriations bill, which in turn is based on expenditure. In the name of frugality, the Federal revenue gearbox is grinding itself down.
Just to make a few points:
Taxpayers i.e., the people that actually pay taxes, don’t create gigantic government debt.
Civil servants, i.e., the people who do the work of the government, don’t create gigantic government debt.
The public, i.e., the people who operate the economy and keep the poor thing alive, don’t need the gigantic government debt.
The whole rationale was always wrong. Debt and misreading every possible government expenditure started this catastrophe from day one. It’s all wrong. An actual cow could have done better.
The debt can’t be managed by hot dog stand accountancy. DOGE probably spent multiples of more money in termination payments than those government workers would have cost in wages.
Revenue is tanking, in fact it’s already looking downright ugly with a net outlay of $7 trillion or so, and likely to create more massive shortfalls. There’s no end to the shutdown visible. So let’s look at the domino effect of the flight shutdown.
A lot of real business flies around on those planes. For every passenger, a greater number of people and businesses will be affected.
Christmas chaos has probably already started. Imagine all those happy frozen travellers trying to find an ER. How insane is this?
This point has been made many times, but let’s try it again.
A perfectly functional economy is crashing exactly as predicted, except the outcomes are even dumber than expected.
It never needed to happen at all.
Aircraft aren’t the only thing that’s not flying.
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
