Posted on 04/11/2008 5:31:34 PM PDT by Kaslin
Regulation: The chairman of the House Transportation Committee is threatening a federal takeover of the airline industry. That's typical Washington, where arrogance and ignorance are frequent running mates
"Public patience is running out," he said during hearings on flight delays and other customer service problems.
We agree. Flying in this country has become a trial. But the problems, aside from the government's duty to be a competent traffic cop for air travel, are not Oberstar's, or Washington's, to fix.
The federal government has neither the constitutional nor moral authority to intervene in private affairs. Airlines are not departments or agencies of the state to be run by policymakers and bureaucrats but private enterprises that answer to their customers.
Lawmakers have excused their previous regulation of industry — and much else — through the Constitution's Commerce Clause, which reads: "Congress shall have power . . . To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes."
While that might seem to grant Congress wide latitude in ordering the affairs of interstate trade, that's not the clause's purpose.
When the union was held together by the Articles of Confederation, states interfered with private enterprise by erecting protectionist trade barriers, just as some nations enact barriers on international trade today. The authors of the Constitution responded with the Commerce Clause, giving Congress the authority to crack down on restraint of interstate trade and essentially establishing a nationwide free-trade zone.
Early court cases confirmed the clause's clear intent. Poor jurisprudence in subsequent rulings, though, allowed lawmakers to abuse power they were never meant to have.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
Go ahead. Wreck the airline industry. I don’t use it anyways.
Christ we’ve pumped so much money into the airlines they might as well be nationalized. Ugh I say just let them fall apart completely, let every air carrier go bankrupt and start from scratch.
Should Oberstar get his way and Congress re-regulate the airline industry, the Democrat who, like all Democrats, claims to be the champion of the little man, would price a large segment of the population out of air travel. For those who don't remember, flying was expensive when government limited entry into the market and controlled fares, routes and schedules. Only the privileged, or those who saved a big share of their income, flew.
As the founders knew . . .
oligarchic government
only knows how to increase !!!!CONTROL!!!! and abuses.
Traitorous Congressional globalist idiots.
Last week a report comes out FAA and Airlines working together, this week 250,000 stranded by airlines. Anyone surprised?
You may not but a lot of other people do for business, travel to family, for occasions etc.
Nationalized airlines. AmericaFlot here we come.
American Airlines must have gotten behind in their donations to the Demonicrat National Committee...
Perhaps the federal government will then run the airlines as efficiently as it runs AMTRAK.
Mussolini made the trains runs on time. The only thing you had to put up with was a Fascist dictator that ruled every little part of your life, and if you didn’t get with the program, would kill you.
Well we missed the boat on Mass transit or regular train service connecting cities and small towns, so now all we have is high gas, and unsafe airplanes. Imagine what could have been, only Dayton, Ohio was smart enought o keep the electric trolleys. I love my car, but would prefer train travel on long hauls. Not much to see up at 30,000 ft.
Democrats = Traitors
I have a better idea...privatize airports and the traffic control system. Last I heard the FAA was still operating dinosaur systems, without the competence to upgrade.
Sounds like the position description for an airline exec.
The infrastructure now would be too expensive, and when it would have been cost effective has passed us by. Yes, other countries had foresight to realize that gas may not always be available.. We didn’t get it, and its too late now. We have bridges, dams, and billions of infrastructure in danger of falling, or being useless because it hasn’t been maintained. We are still greatest nation in world, and we will probably find a way to build cars or something usable, but we could have already been there.
Katherine Kersten: Could Oberstar sink the majestic Delta Queen?
The airline industry in the Germanic European countries (Germany, Scandanvia, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands) is cheap, efficient, punctual and safe. Security is generally unproblematic. Flights are generally comfortable, when there is a problem, information is forthcoming.Even the rest of Europe isn’t so bad except for the very acute problems that Heathrow and Alitalia is having.
Perhaps the US should take a look at how they do it.
Flying in the US is torture. It doesn’t have to be. Why is it?
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