When you imagine the perfect vacation, you think of luxury, ease, comfort, and efficiency. None of those words describes any experience you’ve encountered with government. Why then is your vacation being mediated by so many government agencies? The FAA, the TSA, CBP, and on and on. Now, with the Schumer Shutdown in full swing, air traffic control operations around the country are grinding to a halt, and Americans on vacation or business travel are facing delays and inefficiency. At the Cato Institute, Chris Edwards suggests “freeing” aviation from the government. He writes:
The core problem is that America’s ATC is run by the government. It does not have to be—dozens of nations have separated their ATC from government budgets and bureaucracies. Canada, for example, privatized its ATC in 1996 as a self-funded nonprofit corporation. The system earns revenues by direct charges on aviation users, without the need for subsidies.
The US ATC system, run by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), suffers from politicized decisions on investment, employment, and restructuring. By contrast, the private Canadian system has delivered safe, efficient, and innovative services for three decades.
America is losing ground as aviation demand grows and the skies become increasingly crowded. Our ATC system has been short-staffed for years due to congressional and FAA mismanagement. While Canada and other countries are pursuing innovations such as remote towers, the FAA is excessively risk-averse and falling behind.
Action Line: The answer to the problems created by big government certainly isn’t “more government.” Get the government out of the way, and the free market can solve itself. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
