Some days it seems I’ve woken up in a bad Three Stooges movie. Every day the news gets stranger. According to the BBC, 149 airports across the country will lose their traffic control towers as a budget cutting move:
“Towers will close at small airports but the facilities will remain open, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Pilots will have to co-ordinate takeoff and landing by themselves after 7 April using a shared radio channel.
The towers marked for closure are all staffed by private contractors. Critics say the move will compromise safety.” -BBC
Ya think? I mean why would airplanes flying over crowded cities need to co-ordinate their flights? And really, isn’t that just socialism? And aren’t traffic controllers are just government interference on our freedoms? As good libertarians shouldn’t we fly by the seat of our pants anyway? My favorite line was this one:
Towers were only recommended for closure if it posed no threat to national security and if the agency forecast little economic impact beyond the affected local community, the FAA said.
Yeah, as long as it is only affecting local communities what’s the harm? Only poor people live near airports any way.
I am hearing echoes of the Roman bard who said, “Democracies only last until the people realize they can vote themselves the public coffers.” Or as the modern American sage, Moe, said, “pick two fingers!”