On Tue, Sep 25, 2001 at 07:15:05PM +0000, Steven Johnson wrote:
> I would like to take this opportunity to segue into something a little bit
> more current in the news. Namely, the government bailout of the airline
> industry to the tune of $25 billion. Essentially what the government has
> done has set aside the rules of the free enterprise system and socialized
> the airline industry. Actually, more specifically, they socialized the risk
> of the airline industry but privatized the profits - as far as I know, no
> CEO of any airline industry has agreed to cut their own salaries.
>
> Is socializing the risk despite the overall societal benefits a waste of
> taxpayers money? What are the benefits to the taxpayers?
I see your point. I haven't made a decision yet on this. But I do
consider it a dangerous precedent. Jim mentioned Chrysler as a good
example of where this went right. But in the main I think it doesn't. In
a sense, bailouts are like welfare. Welfare has done little more than
make slaves out of people.
On suggestion I heard was that the government "pay" for a lot of air
travel all at once, which would then get banked and used by the
government in the future. This would certainly be better than simply
giving the airlines free money, since they'd have to produce something
in return.
I have yet to see any ads from the airline industry which promote
airline safety. People aren't flying because they're afraid for their
safety. It's really a marketing issue, after all. The airlines just need
to market their product such that it rises above the noise of recent
events.
As has been pointed out, the airlines were in trouble before the recent
disaster. I'm not sure why. But it muddies the water regarding bailouts.
Part of the problem is this: What if the florist industry just died
overnight? Would anyone be bailing anyone out? Not likely. But airlines,
railroads, utilities and the like are part of the infrastructure of the
country. As such, they enjoy a sort of special status. I think this has
a profound effect on what the government is willing to do to aid them.
Paul
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