Slashdot Mirror


Trump Wants To Modernize Air Travel By Turning Over Control To the Big Airlines (theverge.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Today, President Donald Trump endorsed a plan to hand over oversight of the nation's airspace to a non-profit corporation that will likely be largely controlled by the major airlines. Republicans argue that privatizing air traffic control will help save money and fast track important technological upgrades. But Democrats and consumer groups criticize that plan as a corporate giveaway that will inevitably harm passengers. The air traffic reform proposal, which fell short in Congress last year, would transfer oversight from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to a government-sanctioned, independent entity that would be made up of appointees from industry stakeholders. The effort picked up steam when the union representing air traffic controllers endorsed the plan, citing years of understaffing by the FAA. Some passengers may balk at the idea of handing over day-to-day management of the nation's highly complex air traffic control system to the same companies that rack up tens of thousands of customer complaints a year, and occasionally physically assault or drag passengers off their planes. But the Trump administration argues this is the only way to modernize a system that still runs on technology that's been around since World War II. The FAA is already years into a technology upgrade known as NextGen, which involves moving from the current system based on radar and voice communications to one based on satellite navigation and digital communications. The FAA wants to use GPS technology to shorten routes, save time and fuel, and reduce traffic delays by increasing capacity.

341 comments

  1. so... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The FAA is already years into a technology upgrade... either its already outdated or its almost done so the corps can take credit.

    1. Re:so... by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Or, like many government-backed and -funded projects, it'll never complete in its current form, under current management.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    2. Re:so... by whitroth · · Score: 2

      Yes... go on. Tell me what percentage of government projects are that far over budget, or never completed.

      Then compare and contrast with the number of big budget *corporate* projects that go way over budget, or are never completed.

      Datum: I worked for Ameritech, one of the Baby Bells, in the mid-nineties, in a start-up division. We were going to be Ameritech's entry in the long distance service sweepstakes. And after two years, and three quarters of a BILLION DOLLARS, they gave up and shut it down.

      Let's see your data.

    3. Re:so... by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      We have that in common. I also worked for a baby bell, which will remain nameless because I still know people who worked for the company they became. They invested in this new thing called cellular, and did quite well.

      I didn't say that companies never fail on their projects, (it must be nice to see things only in black and white?) just that in my perception, government projects are more likely to fail. Consider -- a few big time failures, or sometimes even one, can sink a company (and have). You have to be the size and have the inertia of a government to survive multiple large failures. (Point examples of "too big to fail" are the exceptions that prove the rule.) The other part of this is that companies are generally making decisions involving spending earned cash that presumably takes some effort to acquire. That same connection between the funds and the people making the decisions doesn't exist, or at least to the same degree, in government. Certainly you've heard the term "other people's money".

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  2. Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Two things that come to mind when I think about Republcans:

    1. Embrace of technological progress.
    2. Telling the truth about what motivates their policies.

    1. Re:Republicans by The+Real+Dr+John · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes dear AC, like WMD in Iraq, no anthropomorphic climate change, voodoo economics, bombing middle eastern countries will make them peaceful, pollution is good for you, nuclear power is clean as hell and produces no waste products, privatization makes things cheaper, guns make everyone safer.... hell, I could go on all day.

      Your post is so amusing. No wonder it is anonymous.

      --
      A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
    2. Re:Republicans by sconeu · · Score: 2

      I believe you have fallen into the Chasm of Sar. But I might be wrong...

      As usual, Poe's Law applies

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    3. Re:Republicans by The+Real+Dr+John · · Score: 1

      Maybe, but there are plenty of the voodoo economics types here, and they tend to post AC. I thought it might be sarcastic but it wasn't cleaver enough to make that call.

      --
      A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
    4. Re:Republicans by gtall · · Score: 1

      The post: satire. You: Lost on you it is.

    5. Re:Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You do understand the concept of sarcasm, right?

    6. Re:Republicans by Required+Snark · · Score: 1
      Voodoo Economics == Laffer Curve == Trickle Down Economics

      The only thing that trickles down is piss.

      --
      Why is Snark Required?
    7. Re:Republicans by The+Real+Dr+John · · Score: 1

      Yup. The thing that gets me the most angry is that Republicans claim that economic growth is their god, and yet they love it when the wealthy offshore their profits tax free in other countries (like the Panama papers exposed). Economies work best, just like circulatory systems, when the flow is maintained the system is healthy. Offshoring huge profits and leaving them there cuts off the circulation. It stagnates the very economy they claim they want to see grow. Either they are insane, or more likely the money makes them not give a shit about anything but more money. I guess that is a type of insanity in itself, like drug addiction.

      --
      A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
    8. Re:Republicans by The+Real+Dr+John · · Score: 1

      You are probably right, but I had fun posting it anyway. :)

      --
      A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
    9. Re: Republicans by c6gunner · · Score: 0

      Or they just don't give a shit because the amounts being "offshored" add up to a piss in the ocean.

      If you were a right wing economic ignoramus you would be whining about immigrants "offshoring" money they send back to families in their homeland; since you're a left wing economic ignoramus, you whine about billionaires "hiding their profits" in overseas accounts. Intelligent people don't really give a crap about either of those "problems".

    10. Re: Republicans by mspohr · · Score: 1

      Looks like $2.1 trillion in assets are off shore. US Treasury estimates it costs $111 billion a year.
      Intelligent people know how to use Google to find out real information.

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    11. Re: Republicans by c6gunner · · Score: 0

      That's a rather simplistic assessment, but, even if true, it's comparable to the amounts sent overseas by immigrants. In Canada that latter figure is about $24 billion a year. We don't have hard numbers for the US, but with a population of 10 times the size and similar demographics ... you do the math.

      Are you worried about that, also, or just teh ebil billionaires?

    12. Re: Republicans by mspohr · · Score: 1

      The money sent overseas by immigrants is "after tax". The earn the money, pay the IRS tax and send it to their relatives.
      If they pay tax, they can do anything they want with the money.
      The $2.1 trillion off shore assets of individuals and corporations have not paid any tax to the IRS. I have a problem with that... don't you?

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    13. Re:Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The possible existence of WMD in Iraq was only one of many documented reasons used to justify military action in Iraq. The strongest argument for going back was Iraq not adhering to the surrender terms at the end of the first war. Saddam Hussein himself strengthened the WMD assessment by his own actions. By harassing the in country UN team and limiting their access to various sights gave the impression he had something he wanted to keep hidden. He wanted his neighbors to think he had WMD because he was vulnerable and his military was gutted. Saying that WMD was the main reason the military took action is just as stupid as declaring the it was a war for oil. It was only a war for oil when Iraq went after Kuwait's and SA's oil. The world could not afford to have Iraq controlling 35% of the worlds oil market.

    14. Re:Republicans by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

      If you're convinced that was satire, I think you don't know enough about where the vast majority of slashdot comments are coming from these days. If slashdot readers were representative of the US at large, Trump would have won at least 103% of the popular vote.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    15. Re: Republicans by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      That's somehow different than the money you send overseas every single day when you and your materialistic ilk buy cheap imports from China at Walmart?

    16. Re:Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doubling down instead of admitting you were duped.

      Well with as many people that modded you up... ok there are no shortage of dopes here.

    17. Re:Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Playing Mod Roulette because you can never tell when the mods on Slashdot will allow different points of view especially evil Disabled Christian Conservatives like me.

      Funny, not really more like typical comment on something that is not even close to being true. But then again you might not know too many real Conservatives or even Republicans for that matter. So let me help you out just a bit. As I've posted here before, my career is way over 30 years in the Technology Industry. My father, retired from IBM after 30 years there. Uncle in sales and upper management at HP, grand father, a real barn storming pilot, gear nut, tech buff, other grand father, retired engineer at Caterpillar, most of my friends and associates all work in the technology industry in some degree or another. All of them including me except for a minor few, are Christian and Conservative. I have a bunch of friends in various law enforcement areas as well. And you'd be surprised at how many people I've met from working at GTE Wireless, Alltel, and IBM plus family friends between my old relatives. So yes you can throw out the age old that's just anecdotal evidence or whatever the new catch phrase flavor of the day is. But in the end, the point is, there are a lot of us evil Christian Conservatives who love, live, and breath being geeks and nerds. We discuss things like climate change, we just don't agree with everything the left does. We tend to be logical and think things out and yes come to different conclusions then others. As an example, the Paris agreement that Trump exited was non-binding. Get it, NON-Binding as in no penalties if a country breaks the rules. So what is the point besides a feel good measure. China and India can build all kinds of coal plants and pollution factories without penalty until what 2030 and then what, they promise to be good???

      Meanwhile the US thanks to technology continues with Wind farms, I live in Kansas we have a bunch of them not too far from me, solar, natural gas replacing Coal plants etc. and people whine about us. Most of our manufacturing plants are now overseas or Mexico so less pollution. Our cars are mostly modern with smaller engines and more pollution efficient then the older cars which are less and less on the roads. Yes SUVs and trucks are on the road but even those are more efficient than the older ones and states like Ohio have checks before people can get their license plates. Can't get your car fixed? then no licenses plate until you've spent a bunch of proven cash otherwise. So how many really bad old cars are still on the roads outside of hot rods??

      I could go on and have serious logical discussions with many on the left but they scream and call me a racist, make claims that I don't believe in technology except for the fact my whole life has been in technology, I have a love in all things aircraft, space, and obviously technology as is most of my friends and family. Of course I'm too stupid to discuss climate change even though like many conservatives I have done some reading on the subject to better understand. But go ahead and keep promoting the claim that Christian Conservatives and Republicans are all stupid, uneducated, uncaring racists, and all the other completely ignorant phrases that make you popular with your little college professors and friends. We'll just continue to find amusement in such crap.

      By the way, why does the left make such claims as being all inclusive and so open minded and yet when it comes to anyone that has a different point of view, especially those of us evil Christian Conservatives you suddenly become so close minded and hateful. Like just about every article on slashdot has a stupid hateful comment(s) on President Trump who really did win the Presidency because the popular vote doesn't win the game. So thankful the founding fathers were smart enough to understand that.

    18. Re:Republicans by Maritz · · Score: 1

      There sure are a lot of slashdottirs who share Mr Trump's thoughtful and considered view on climate change skepticism. Maybe it's because they don't like it, as I suspect is the case with orange dickhead.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    19. Re:Republicans by Kiuas · · Score: 1

      Playing Mod Roulette because you can never tell when the mods on Slashdot will allow different points of view especially evil Disabled Christian Conservatives like me.

      As a disabled leftist European liberal this opening alone compelled me to answer to you.

      As an example, the Paris agreement that Trump exited was non-binding. Get it, NON-Binding as in no penalties if a country breaks the rules. So what is the point besides a feel good measure.

      The point is to agree and plan together to reduce the emissions. The reason it's not binding is that big players like the US, China and Russia will not agree to a binding treaty. But the general point is getting everyone on board and realizing that things need to be done to curb emissions globally.

      China and India can build all kinds of coal plants and pollution factories without penalty until what 2030 and then what, they promise to be good???

      First off, 2030 is the target year at which china is supposed to reach its peak emissions. That is, their total emissions (including traffic) will grow in absolute terms until the year 2030 at which point they're supposed to start going down. Look at what they're actually planning to do:

      China’s NDC’s targets, if reached, would result in GHG emission levels of roughly 12.8–14.3 GtCO2e in 2030, a 64%–70% reduction of emissions intensity below 2005 levels (using the latest projections on GDP development (IEA, 2016b)). The NDC carbon intensity targets on their own would lead to 2030 emission levels of 14.0–16.0 GtCO2e. As the intensity targets are likely to be reached automatically if the non-fossil targets are achieved, and our rating is based on achieving all NDC targets, we do not address the intensity targets separately here. (In earlier assessments, we explicitly noted that China’s INDC target on its own would result in an “inadequate” rating.)

      However, this range also implies that China’s NDC and its national actions are not yet consistent with limiting warming to below 2C, let alone 1.5C unless other countries make much deeper reductions and comparably greater effort than China. We therefore rate the emission levels estimated for 2025 and 2030 resulting from the most ambitious aspects of the NDC as “medium.”

      Our analysis shows that China will achieve both its 2020 pledge and its 2030 plans. Current policy projections show that emissions in 2030 could lie in the range of 12.2–13.7 GtCO2e, implying that China may well overachieve the target levels implied by its NDC with its current policies.

      China is implementing significant policies to address climate change, most recently aiming to restrict coal consumption, which may well have already peaked, based on recent estimates. China’s 13th Five-Year-Plan stipulates a maximum 58% share of coal in national energy consumption by 2020 (NDRC, 2016). The CAT assesses two scenarios of future developments in coal consumption: a continued coal abatement scenarios well as a stalled coal abatement scenario:

      Under the “continued coal abatement” scenario, where the recent decreases in coal consumption continue at a similar pace for the next few years—forming the lower range of the 2030 projections—CO2 emissions would already have plateaued in 2015, and will decrease substantially up to 2030, reaching the NDC peaking target around ten years early.

      In the “stalled coal abatement” scenario, total coal consumption stabilises after the recent decreases and remains constant through the decade 2020–2030 (see Current Policy section for more detail).

      However, total GHG emissions are likely to continue increasing until 2030, as China has not yet implemented sufficient policies addressing non-CO2 GHG emissions (CH4, N2O, HFCs etc

      --
      "It is the business of the future to be dangerous" -Alfred North Whitehead
    20. Re: Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh my God! Quit bitching!

      "Oh, poor me! I'm part of the biggest group in the country! I'm so oppressed! Both political parties are trying to cater to me! Life is so hard!"

      You've got that in common with your friends on the far left, at least: everyone is trying to appease you, yet you're still playing the victim!

    21. Re:Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "gave the impression he had something he wanted to keep hidden"

      Yeah, that's sufficient justification to invade a country resulting in the death of 175,000 to 196,000 civilians.

      Sauce.

    22. Re:Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So anonymous, you couldn't even see his sarcasm!

    23. Re: Republicans by danbert8 · · Score: 1

      Hard to pay taxes without a valid Social Security number... I don't know what the spread is between money sent overseas by legal vs illegal immigrants, but I'm guessing that the greater share is from illegals. I'm betting the percentage of money sent home by illegals is over 90% tax free since it's probably under the table.

      --
      Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
    24. Re: Republicans by mspohr · · Score: 1

      Now you're just making stuff up to distract.

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    25. Re:Republicans by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

      Trump dislikes climate change because Fox News told him to dislike it. Slashdotters dislike climate change apparently because they believe their ignorance of science will anger the last non-conservative left on slashdot and hopefully scare him (me) away.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    26. Re:Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except there WERE WMDs in Iraq. The CIA bought some, and there are US Marine's suffering from the effects of having come in contact with them. Read your own newspapers. It was in the NY Times, though nobody chose to speak about it. I think you'll find also that the democrats are quite fond of bombing middle eastern countries themselves, but again none of you choose to speak about it. Most of what you mentioned is not a D or R thing... it's a "Greedy People" thing. No normal person things privatization will make anything cheaper, no intelligent person on either side thinks nuclear power has zero waste products. Keep the hyperbole though, it's all you people have I guess.

    27. Re: Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Illegal immigrants pay billions in taxes. You can get an SSN without being a legal resident. You just apply.

    28. Re:Republicans by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      The war was sold on WMDs.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    29. Re:Republicans by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      Well let's see. I guess you never got the memo that they found WMDs in Iraq. https://www.usnews.com/opinion... . Not surprising, the US put them there. So to deny they were there is just pure ignorance, set out by the dishonest press. Even after it was pointed out to them many times that the US put them there, so they're there. Hard to fix stupid.

      AGW - Things are warming, not due to man. They used to walk an elephant onto the Thames - http://www.bbc.com/news/magazi... up to 200 years ago. It was already warming by then, which is pre-industrial revolution, meaning it's not CO2, meaning it's not man. CO2 is a symptom, not the cause. BTW, they used to grow grapes in the UK about 2000 years ago during the Roman times - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci... . So we're really returning to where it was. No need to pay a bunch of money to a few leftists that won't do anything with the money other than take it. That's what the Paris accord was about by the way. It didn't do anything by design.

      Voodoo economics, that was a campaign comment. Not true. The US saw the largest expansion of economic wealth the world had ever seen during Reagan's term. It wasn't "trickle down", it was trickle everywhere economics. Everyone benefited from those policies.

      Then you just get silly. Including your comment on guns. We all know that more guns leads to less crime. More gun control the more crime. It's very definitive.

      There's your lesson for the day.

    30. Re: Republicans by slashdotwannabe · · Score: 1

      Hard to pay taxes without a valid Social Security number.

      You haven't thought this through very much. I assure you it is quite easy to pay taxes; the cash register is even kind enough to include it in the amount you pay! ...or did you think that income taxes were the only taxes people pay? As for income taxes, well, they does get more complicated. You see, illegals pay MORE in income taxes than you or I, since taxes are withheld just like everyone else but they can never file for a refund.

      Finally, why do you give a flying fuck about what Pedro does with his hundred bucks when Rothschild is hiding a couple billion?I presume you're aware that all of the Pedros on the planet still have less than half of what the Rothschilds have?

      --
      This comment is my opinion and does not represent an official position of Donald Trump or others I do not work for
  3. Next Step by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Understaffed, undertrained, people die.

    1. Re:Next Step by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      Yes, because large corporations just LOVE losing $2.5 million dollars every time a plane crashes.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    2. Re:Next Step by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's closer to 100 million, just for the aircraft(the typical airliner being a 737-800).

    3. Re:Next Step by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      They do when it's insured for $3.5 million.

    4. Re:Next Step by naubol · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, because large corporations just LOVE losing $2.5 million dollars every time a plane crashes.

      That's exactly right, corporations do not like losing money. So, it will be a cold calculation of how many dollars it saves not to have a crash and how many dollars it saves not to properly operate ATC. Maybe market forces mean we end up having better service with less loss of life, maybe it means something else. If the optimal profit result ends up being letting a few hundred more people die each year, guess thats what'll happen. Can't wait to find out...

      --
      Reality is a slackware box running on a 386 tucked away in god's sock drawer.
    5. Re:Next Step by Joosy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's exactly right, corporations do not like losing money. So, it will be a cold calculation of how many dollars it saves not to have a crash

      Corporations don't "like" anything ... they're not people. (This isn't Mitt Romney posting, is it?)

      The ones making the decisions of how much to spend on security have their own self-interest at heart. So ...

      1. CEO cuts spending on safety
      2. Short term profit rises
      3. Stock skyrockets
      4. CEO is hailed as turn around specialist
      5. CEO retires, pocketing millions
      6. Because of deferred maintenance (see #1), planes have more accidents
      7. CEO, basking in retirement, sees start of televised report about plane crashes. Lifts remote. Changes channel.

      --
      I'm sick and tired of these hip, "ironic" sigs. This is an actual, honest-to-goodness no-nonsense sig!
    6. Re:Next Step by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. They would never skimp on something so critical to their operations. /s
      https://www.theregister.co.uk/...

    7. Re:Next Step by mspohr · · Score: 1

      Corporations have insurance for this... it doesn't cost them.
      Insurance is just the cost of doing business.

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    8. Re:Next Step by mspohr · · Score: 2

      Just look at the BA fiasco. Hotshot CEO cut IT spending. No backup system. Lousy IT design and operation. System crashed. (At least a plane didn't crash)

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    9. Re: Next Step by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      And they pass the cost of insurance onto the customers, so it's really a free ride for them.

    10. Re: Next Step by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And they pass the cost of insurance onto the customers, so it's really a free ride for them.

      And they make money from selling their wares.

      What an unbelievable racket.

    11. Re:Next Step by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, but they love short-term profits.

      You can easily see how this works when you look at businesses that were sustained by government or government-owned companies for the longest time and then privatized. Governments are concerned with running services because that's the business they're in. Private corporations are concerned with making money, running the service is only the necessary evil, the means to the end.

      So what they do is cut maintenance and reinvestment to the bare minimum to allow the service to continue. That means that the first couple years you don't notice much, but you eventually notice that the sustainability of the service has been axed when it shows that new people don't receive the training that their old counterpart got (because, why bother, the older ones who received the training can pick up their slack... at least until they retire), it shows that repairs and replacements didn't get the attention they needed and so on.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    12. Re: Next Step by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This is a stupid meme that has to die.

      Insurance companies aren't in the business of losing money. They don't just blindly pay out without doing anything to mitigate or manage their risk.

      In reality, insurance companies are the most powerful regulators out there. Companies spend millions of dollars implementing insurance company recommendations in order to reduce their insurance premiums, because if you're just letting bad things happen, your premiums will be through the roof.

      Besides that, there's the question of deductibles. Think the $1000 on your car insurance is bad? How about a deductible of millions of dollars? Insurance is protection, not some magical wellspring from which not only is a company made whole, but better than whole.

      Seriously. It's like you folks have never seen a business before.

    13. Re: Next Step by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      If they don't have to pay as much for insurance, they can lower their prices, and get more customers for the same profit margin.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    14. Re:Next Step by houghi · · Score: 1

      As if I am reading (audio book actually) "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". The part where he explains the golden goose.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  4. Privatization is the same as oligarchization by The+Real+Dr+John · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is about rich people making even more money, not about anything else. I wish people would stop the nonsense about greater efficiency. It always ends up badly for regular people, just ask the people in Flint Michigan about their water.

    --
    A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
    1. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As opposed to the super connected politicians making all the money. Got it.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    2. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      One goes in in the front the other goes in the rear, getting it at both ends is what happens when the rich and powerful turn the government against it's citizenry. . . There is an appropriate Chinese proverb: During good governance wealth is something to be proud of, during bad governance wealth is something to be ashamed of.

    3. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is the problem with allowing people to make money? Sure they should be allowed to make money by providing a service people is want to pay for...
      What i would like to have is rules against:
      - Bumping people without the passenger getting what they want in compensation.. Let the airline buy back the ticket for what the passenger is willing to sell it for.
      - Size of seats.. make it mandatory when selling seats that if a person is too wide for a seat (overflowing to the next seat) they should not be allowed on the plane.. And also offering seats of different sizes.
      - Legroom.. Offer seats with different amount of legroom so long people get seats with enough legroom where they fit without interfering with people sitting next to them..

      And allow for tickets that allow, and present it clearly to the passenger, infringe on these things... If you want a cheapass ticket then feel free to get one..

      Maybe also put a maximum profit per flight in % of what they take in.. maybe 30%?

    4. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Written after a few beers, so don't complain too much about my wording :)

    5. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by The+Real+Dr+John · · Score: 1

      Exactly. Thanks for summing it up so nicely.

      --
      A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
    6. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah Flint is ran by Liberal Democrats.

    7. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      You meant the public water system in Flint? I'd say public is also the same as oligarchization, unfortunately.

    8. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by naubol · · Score: 0

      DRINK THEIR TEARS!!! QUICK!!!

      --
      Reality is a slackware box running on a 386 tucked away in god's sock drawer.
    9. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by The+Real+Dr+John · · Score: 2

      If government runs properly (not captured by corporate or military interests) then things work out generally well. When governments become beholden to big banks, and business and war, then things tend to get good for the rich, and not so good for workers. Highly regulated capitalism works generally well for most people, but unregulated capitalism is like a cancer on society.

      --
      A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
    10. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by virtualXTC · · Score: 1

      I don't know, it sounds a lot like the FDA... which more or less works.

    11. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where do you think the money comes from to bribe politicians? Magic?

      You really, seriously think, that the politicians are the ones with more money than the people buying them?

      The only place that was true was in a totalitarian country like the USSR, where money was pretty much irrelevant anyway.

    12. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry pal, but Politicians come cheap.
      Look at their campaign contributions when it comes to policy decisions.

    13. Re: Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, Flint's government and water supplier were outsourced by the state's Republican governor.

      Who lied to the EPA. Who lied to the people of Flint. And who kept government process from acting.

    14. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      Flint Michigan was government failure at multiple levels. Had nothing to do with the private sector.

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    15. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by skam240 · · Score: 1

      You mean the politicians we get to vote for?

      Last time I checked most major corperations didnt let we the people decide who their CEOs are going to be.

      --
      I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
    16. Re: Privatization is the same as oligarchization by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      What is the problem with allowing people to make money?

      Because people are greedy corruptible pieces of shit.

    17. Re: Privatization is the same as oligarchization by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1
    18. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You get what you pay for.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    19. Re: Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      lol. You'll get what you want, dickhead. Your insurance will go up, and you'll be covered for less. Enjoy.

    20. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Maritz · · Score: 1

      What is the problem with allowing people to make money? Sure they should be allowed to make money by providing a service people is want to pay for... What i would like to have is rules against: - Bumping people without the passenger getting what they want in compensation.. Let the airline buy back the ticket for what the passenger is willing to sell it for. - Size of seats.. make it mandatory when selling seats that if a person is too wide for a seat (overflowing to the next seat) they should not be allowed on the plane.. And also offering seats of different sizes. - Legroom.. Offer seats with different amount of legroom so long people get seats with enough legroom where they fit without interfering with people sitting next to them..

      And allow for tickets that allow, and present it clearly to the passenger, infringe on these things... If you want a cheapass ticket then feel free to get one..

      Maybe also put a maximum profit per flight in % of what they take in.. maybe 30%?

      This is about Air Traffic Control. None of what you posted is in any way relevant.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    21. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... nonsense about greater efficiency.

      It's a fact: Capitalism is efficient. That doesn't mean it's free, moral, fair or safe. That is why the "Causes of the wealth of nations" demanded regulation while also describing an "invisible hand" which allowed consumers to benefit from this efficiency despite the inequity, bias and danger created by capitalists.

    22. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by The+Real+Dr+John · · Score: 4, Informative

      You must watch Fox News for your information. The government failure started with Rick Snyder, a corporate Republican. The water problems did not start until he signed a bill giving emergency managers more power, and then turned the city management over to a private emergency manager, who switched the water supply to the river water to save money. The city council tried to reverse the situation.

      https://www.foodandwaterwatch....

      But you probably knew that, and were just pissing.

      --
      A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
    23. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is about rich people making even more money, not about anything else. I wish people would stop the nonsense about greater efficiency. It always ends up badly for regular people, just ask the people in Flint Michigan about their water.

      Better yet, you should ask the infamous ex-priminister of Thailand. The wikipedia page, sadly, seems to cover/hide some other things he did (gut government services by selling/bidding them off to his own affiliated private companies). Also, speaking of helping poverty in rural area on the page is just misleading. If you ever have a chance to learn from rural people, you would see that he didn't really help them but rather created another layer of corruption. You can think of it this way... He has a big whole pie. Then he gives a few pie crumbs (not a piece) to each of those poor people. As a result, those people feel that they have got something; whereas, he actually is still holding the whole pie.

      During his first term, he laid down all foundation for his plan. In his second term, he came forward without fear. However, Thailand is not the US, so they had a coup and exiled him. Though the consequences of what happened would be another long story. Trump is somewhat similar to him; however, the ex-priminister is much more sophisticated on planning and executing.

      Even now, the economy of Thailand is still unstable. The price of all goods have been triple or higher since his administration term. I hope the U.S. wouldn't go through the same way that Thailand did.

    24. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by doggo · · Score: 1

      You mean the public water system in Flint that wasn't in control of duly elected officials? You mean the public water system in Flint that had its source switched by a Republican policy "emergency manager"? All driven by business ideals.

      Business has no fucking place in governance. Business people are stupid, greedy assholes who think they're much smarter than they are. Look at our fucking Whitehouse.

      Everywhere privatization has been put in place it's failed to delivery on its promises.

    25. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

      I haven't voted for a winning candidate in probably 30 years. People like slick well tailored smooth talking liars to plain talking normal person, who is average.

      See my Sig for the real problem.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    26. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by xwhite · · Score: 1

      When governments become beholden to big banks, and business and war, then things tend to get good for the rich, and not so good for workers.

      You seem stuck on this point, which is bizarre. The problem in Flint was public sector unions negotiating for pension benefits for government employees that were unsustainable, and government officials agreeing to the terms.

    27. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is about rich people making even more money, not about anything else.

      If you actually read the proposal, it is to create a govt recognized non-profit corporation, run by a board of airline executives. There really isn't a mechanism for the rich to get richer, any more than there is now with the FAA.

      Of course, the airlines are going to be responsible for funding the organization, a cost that will be passed on to flyers. At least in that scenario, the people who benefit from the system will be paying for it, rather than all taxpayers.

    28. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by skam240 · · Score: 1

      Ah, so your choices are the correct ones and everyone else is dumb and stupid.

      Sure.

      --
      I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
    29. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by wyHunter · · Score: 1

      Yes look at it - Bill Clinton selling nuclear secrets to the Chinese, Hillary Clinton having "Pay for Play" in the state department. Obama bowing to the Saudi king. Just disgusting.

    30. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Plain talking normal people are disasters in politics. They may be likeable, but they're going to be ineffectual.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    31. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      The main problem with Flint's water is that state-imposed government made a bad, and perhaps vindictive, choice of water supply, against the advice of the locals. Flint had a lot of other problems, of course, but they weren't responsible for the poison water.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    32. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The politicians STILL make all their money off of the corporations in the form of bribes and lobbying. Privatizing a thing means more profit for the corporations, and thus more profit for the politician.

    33. Re:Privatization is the same as oligarchization by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      Insightful? Really? Flint was about ... Well here it is - http://dailycaller.com/2017/06... . So that's where it gets funny. The ONLY person from the very lowest government guy all the way up to Obama was the Republican governor, so they tried to blame him. Not the Democrats that actually did it. Not the dumb people that wouldn't fund their own water system, just the guy that had nothing to do with it.

      Not saying they should be poisoned or anything like that. Get the state to help, let people know there is a crisis, anything but poisoning the water. Even turn it off. Hard to imagine that happening in the US.

  5. Is the begining of the END for TSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah!!!!!!!!!

    Now we have some one we can sue. The TSA seems immune from being normal.

    1. Re:Is the begining of the END for TSA by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      Not a chance. ATC is under the FAA, TSA is under Department of Homeland Security.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  6. first? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, i can see that privatizing this may offer some benefits.. But i think the regulation should be clear rules that the airline companies need to abide by... Then they can compete on even terms and you choose what service you want to get for what amount...

    If you want a cross-country flight for less than $100 then you get what you pay for...
    One rule could be that the airline has is not allowed to make more than 25% profit per flight or similar.

  7. Democrats and consumer groups by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    against the Unions. this will be good.

    1. Re:Democrats and consumer groups by Verdatum · · Score: 1

      Last I've seen, the ATCA hasn't decided if they like the idea or not.

    2. Re:Democrats and consumer groups by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ATCA is probably trying to figure out if this will give them back some of the abilitynto strike that PATCO lost.

      Wonder why the Republicans aren't worrying about that?

  8. Fox in the Hen House by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have some hens to guard. I want it to be efficient. So I hand it over to the foxes to manage!

    1. Re:Fox in the Hen House by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      ...but in this particular case, the foxes make money off the hens, so presumably would want the hens to survive.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    2. Re:Fox in the Hen House by LunaticTippy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The foxes don't care about any particular hens, only the fact that there are hens to eat. Smart businessfoxes would keep a large population of overfed, misinformed hens and kill off a percentage around the edges of hen society, maybe by taking away their health care, disability, and food stamps.

      --
      Man, you really need that seminar!
    3. Re:Fox in the Hen House by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Hahahaha.

      No the foxes eat the hens, burn down the hen house, and then ask the government for some help because they are to important to fail.

    4. Re:Fox in the Hen House by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Sorry, I thought we were talking about air traffic control. I guess that's the problem with metaphors.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    5. Re:Fox in the Hen House by LunaticTippy · · Score: 1

      I let the metaphor get away from me intentionally because I see it as part of an overall attitude. The administration would prefer to enrich a handful of self interested corporations at the expense of government workers and consumers. This attitude is typical, the same approach they take to regulations, health care, social safety net, etc.

      --
      Man, you really need that seminar!
    6. Re:Fox in the Hen House by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Found the government worker..

    7. Re:Fox in the Hen House by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      I let the metaphor get away from me intentionally because I see it as part of an overall attitude. The administration would prefer to enrich a handful of self interested corporations at the expense of government workers and consumers. This attitude is typical, the same approach they take to regulations, health care, social safety net, etc.

      The thing is, a federal entity being years into an upgrade that goes way over budget and over time and ultimately fails is also a way to enrich a handful of self interested corporations at the expense of government workers and consumers. And taxpayers. The methods aren't even that different.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    8. Re:Fox in the Hen House by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I always find it odd that if I stop giving you something that I created, people call that "taking away their something" when it's a lot more like "I'm not giving you my somethings anymore." It's totally weird to me that you think the food stamps are being taken away, when the proposal is actually to do the opposite -- to stop giving them out. We can talk all day long about whether that is good or not, but if you expect to have that conversation, we're going to have to recognize where the stuff is coming from first and the fact that you cannot take away something I haven't given you in the first place.

    9. Re:Fox in the Hen House by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Just make it the hens that cluck too loudly and try to warn about foxes guarding the hen house and you should do great.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    10. Re:Fox in the Hen House by Maritz · · Score: 1

      Do you boil everything down to the most petty semantics? How crushingly boring.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    11. Re:Fox in the Hen House by halivar · · Score: 1

      This is weird. You don't trust airlines to manage airspace, but you DO trust them with your life by letting them hurl you through the sky in a big metal brick. If you cannot trust them for the former, you are a fool to trust them for the latter.

    12. Re:Fox in the Hen House by LunaticTippy · · Score: 1

      I've seen too many failed/overtime/overbudget projects in the private sector to think that privatizing will fix anything. I suspect a stable high level of funding would do the trick, instead of the erratic austerity that has been imposed in recent history.

      --
      Man, you really need that seminar!
    13. Re:Fox in the Hen House by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But just keep in mind: That over budget, over time job is being done by private sector already. The FAA does none of that.

      https://www.bloomberg.com/prof...

      Same group of gov scammers at the teet again.

    14. Re:Fox in the Hen House by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Similarly, capitalists demand the output from their factories, and would say someone was taking away their something when the factory doesn't give them control over the products. Wealth is primarily produced, and we're dividing it up every day. Some people feel entitled to more than their share, because they've had more than their share before.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    15. Re:Fox in the Hen House by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      "too important to fail" is an aberration that should never have happened.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    16. Re:Fox in the Hen House by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Are you saying the FAA is not managing the project? If not, why?? It's our tax money -- we're entitled to oversight.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  9. Not controlled by the airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The plan is to create an NGO to operate it, fully funded by user fees -- not to hand control over to the airlines.

    This system is used in about 50 countries, including Canada, the UK, and Australia.

    1. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by Holi · · Score: 2

      I completely agree that NextGen needs to be fully implemented here. I worry about how we will privatize it as privatization in America does not tend to work out well for the mere citizen, the lack of will for serious regulation means these companies get to run roughshod over us.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
    2. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In this context, the "users" are the airlines. Don't be a sap.

      I'm sure the underlying concepts are sound and can be executed competently in theory. Just not in the United States where greed and amorality ruin everything.

    3. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When you see the proposal, you will note that the board is made up of predominantly airline representatives. So it is indeed turning control of the FAA Trust Fund (ticket fees) to the airlines -- which is why they are supporting it. They can then subsidize the implementation of costly airplane upgrades using "user fees" instead of having to eat in to their record profits.

    4. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      And because greed and amorality run everything:
      1. Corporations pass on costs to customers. This will be a new surcharge on your plane ticket.
      2. You can bet the system will not only be upgraded but the latest GPS and Mesh Networking tech will come into play, because GREED: Losing a $25 million aircraft because some idiot Islamic pilot wants to fly until he runs out of fuel that you can't even get an insurance settlement on because there is no proof that it crashed, is bad.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    5. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by v1 · · Score: 1

      well it doesn't matter who's running the show, we will get the the bill in the end. Right now it's coming partly from taxes and partly from the airlines. This just shifts the initial cost over to the airlines. We will still get stuck with the bill. The problem now is the massive conflict of interest it creates. I'm sure MrT is just looking at this as another business opportunity though. It just blows my mind the amount of business favors he's going to have stacked up before we manage to get rid of him.

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
    6. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      The plan is to create an NGO to operate it, fully funded by user fees -- not to hand control over to the airlines.

      This system is used in about 50 countries, including Canada, the UK, and Australia.

      NavCanada has fifteen seats on the Board of Directors:

      * four Directors elected by commercial carriers through the National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC);
      * one Director elected by business and general aviation through the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA);
      * three Directors elected by the Government of Canada;
      * two Directors elected by employee unions;
      * four independent Directors elected by the Board through the Director member; and
      * the Chief Executive Officer.

      http://www.navcanada.ca/EN/about-us/Pages/governance.aspx

      Do you think that will be the same format of the new system in the US? Will there actually be employees, or will it be contracted out to Lockheed Martin/ General Dynamics/etc.?

      As usual, Trump has put forward a glorious plan with few details.

    7. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This system is used in about 50 countries, including Canada, the UK, and Australia.

      Which is why citizens of those countries come here to train or fly for recreation. User fees make it insanely expensive for regular people in those countries to get into general aviation. The United States is the largest producer of small aircraft, an industry that will be decimated by users fees. This is why there is a long line of (small) organizations opposing this move.

      Why do we not want to by like the rest of the country for gun control and health care (where it would harm the income of a few people) but just like them in other areas (where it would benefit the income of a few people)?

    8. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You completely misunderstand the problem, business will use this to improve their profit sure, but at the cost of oversight and security (the real kind, not the OMG you have NAIL CLIPPERS! kind).

      I'm not so sure the FAA is that effective at security either, but at least they can mandate spending on it if need be, the airlines will not. They will simply expect it in some kind of hand waving Someone-Else's-Problem fashion and blame the new agency despite refusing their requests to fund it.

    9. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by barc0001 · · Score: 1

      > As usual, Trump has put forward a glorious plan with few details.

      Enough with the gloom! He's gonna build a wall in the sky and then make the pigeons pay for it!

    10. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The plan is to create an NGO to operate it, fully funded by user fees -- not to hand control over to the airlines. This system is used in about 50 countries, including Canada, the UK, and Australia.

      In Australia the ANSP is a wholly government-owned corporation that charges for ATC, fire fighting, and other services. It was spun off from being a direct government body in 1995 when split into a regulator (CASA) and ATC provider (Airservices Australia). Airservices is not a company in the normal sense: it exists by dint of specific legislation, pays only one shareholder (that dictates the dividend), and routinely faces direct Senate inquiry and the politics that entails. It is an organisation with a government mentality most of the time, a commercial attitude when it suits them, and an interminable air of infallibility in all things.

      I hope a US NGO, should that eventuate is, above all, not-for-profit and better than what we have.

    11. Re: Not controlled by the airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      doing it for the children, his children

    12. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      He's gonna build a wall in the sky and then make the pigeons pay for it!

      As a fully fledged member of the "Pigeons' Union of America" I protest!

    13. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by thogard · · Score: 1

      The system in Australia is too expensive for student pilots to get proper training in controlled systems.

      With a "user pays" ATC, do I use the system every day a plane doesn't crash into my house?

    14. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      He probably thinks all of the wires in the sky needs replacing as he heard recently that the planes are fly by wire.

    15. Re:Not controlled by the airlines by houghi · · Score: 1

      Many countries have a working healthcare, yet the US decided to go with an inferior option.
      Many countries use a way of securing CC payment (pin code) yet the US decided to go with an inferior option.
      Many countries use metric, yet the US decided to go with an inferior system.

      Somehow I hope this time it will be different, but I have my doubts.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  10. Boon.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure that'll be a boon to the safety and security of all travellers... and their pocket books.

  11. The privatization fetish by AlanObject · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh, yeah. I really want my safety to be weighed against someone's profit margin in a spreadsheet somewhere.

    Government is not a business. It should not be run like a business. People who think it should be should not be allowed anywhere near a decision making office in government.

    1. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      obviously you are not a free market fundamentalist. . . All glory to the INVISIBLE HAND!!!! In the invisible hand we trust. . . despite any evidence to the contrary. . .

    2. Re:The privatization fetish by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      You think it is profitable to crash multi-million dollar airliners?

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    3. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If I can save $1million by increasing the odds of crashing 0.1%, as a corporation I will make money on average so do it. As a human, I value my life far more than that, but the airline does not.

    4. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And it would still be less risky than driving a car or riding the train..

    5. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Insurance will cover most of that

    6. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the Very Big Corporation of America can save $1 by increasing the odds of hurting a child by 0.0000000001%, blah blah blah.
      Typical leftist groupthink.

    7. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      $1 million as default settlement per dead passenger you don't have to worry. For all injured passengers it should be all costs related to the injury with the airline having the burden of proof to not have to cover it.

      But even then, if you have one plane out of 10000 crashing it would still be lower risk than driving a car.. And at those levels, if they had to pay $200M+ for every crash they would go bankrupt quite soon.

    8. Re:The privatization fetish by gtall · · Score: 1

      It depends. Their bean counters will hone finely tuned models that predict just how many people they can be allowed to off before it affects the bottom line. As long as they are below the limit, it won't bother them.

    9. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually I do have to worry, thanks. $1 million is a long way below how much I value my life. If they can kill me and save $2 million they'll do it. That does not align with my own values.

    10. Re:The privatization fetish by Ichijo · · Score: 1

      Government is not a business. It should not be run like a business.

      I beg to differ:

      Back when I did engineering work, I worked on two separate contracts for very similar projects at roughly the same time. Project A was for a city, while Project B was being paid for by a developer. For Project A, we signed a lump sum contract with the city to do the study and design and then an hourly billing schedule for inspection. For Project B, we had an hourly agreement with the developer to provide the same services... [this] developer was in my office twice a day getting updates, checking on progress and overseeing my work... When he got my bill, he demanded hourly itemization and scrutinized the entire thing, refusing to pay when he thought things shouldn't have taken as long as they did. It was a pain and I remember being annoyed, but I also remember it got done quickly and for a tiny fraction -- [perhaps] 1/3 the cost -- of what a very similar project cost the public client.

      This illustrates one way that a government could be run more like a business for the benefit of all taxpayers.

      --
      Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
    11. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "Leftist groupthink" .... Apparently /. for the past few years have been populated by a bunch of people who failed civics 101. Yet the same people who use the term "leftist" quite loosely will also state that a corporation's goal is to make money for the shareholders (profit). It is NOT far-fetched to even remotely suggest that actions taken to increase the "bottom line" will be done (such as layoffs to increase short term profits). Get a clue.

    12. Re:The privatization fetish by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1

      Oh, yeah. I really want my safety to be weighed against someone's profit margin in a spreadsheet somewhere.

      While I probably agree with you in this particular case (though I haven't read all the details), and I'm generally suspicious of relying on businesses to audit themselves, this policy isn't always true in general. Government can also have bad motivations and conflicts of interest.

      Take the TSA and airport security for example. Before 9/11, airport security was mostly a private affair, and it generally functioned well. 9/11 wasn't even really a failure of airport security, since the hijackers actually only took approved items through security. Compare that to the TSA, which routinely tends to let 90%+ of dangerous materials through.

      (A few internet searches for reports from the 1980s and 1990s indicate failure rates to detect weapons, etc. in FAA audits of only 10-20%, instead of 90% for the TSA now. That's despite reports back then criticizing low pay and frequent turnover as obstacles to better detection rates -- and yet they did SO much better than the TSA does now. In 1987, it was a huge scandal that 20% of weapons got through FAA testing, leading to significant changes that ultimately reduced that number to ~10% in the 1990s. The TSA has rarely managed to FIND more than 20% of weapons in any audit since it has been created; the highest rate I could find in any TSA audit was a 30% success rate.)

      Airports and airlines who funded security had a strong motivation before 9/11 to prevent hijackings, since they affected public perception of flying, and they knew any such events could have severe repercussions to their bottom lines. (On the other hand, there was at least some regard for efficiency in choosing security methods, because there was limited funding.)

      But the government? It has basically little motivation to implement effective security. Why? Government is not only interested in protecting citizens -- it has a conflict of interest because it likes power too. Government also knows that fear is a strong motivator to get people to the polls. A minor breach will be motivation for more power and more control, along with allocation of billions more from the basically unlimited "taxpayer checkbook" to pay to 3rd-party cronies in pork-barrel spending. A major breach would lead to Patriot Act 2.0 (or 3.0 or whatever we're on now), with even more powers and less government oversight. Sure, there might be minor disgust among voters immediately for security failures, but that will turn around in a few months with Patriot Act 2.0 and the right rhetoric.

      I know this sounds quite cynical, but how else can you explain the existence of the charade that is the TSA, with its high costs and repeated 90%+ failure rate in just about every security audit it has been subjected to? The government either knows the number of actual motivated terrorists who want to bomb planes is so low that they won't even attempt to get through such a weak net, or the government just figures, "Meh -- it's win-win either way for us."

      Sometimes businesses who actually are invested in something might actually be more motivated to "do the right thing."

    13. Re:The privatization fetish by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1
      Oh, and by the way, if you think the pre-9/11 tests weren't as rigorous, you're probably right. But this 2002 report AFTER 9/11 where the FAA was determined to show how bad private airport screeners were only managed to sneak weapons past airport security 24% of the time. At the time, it was a "call for action," and the transition to federal TSA screeners that was to happen later that year was proclaimed as the solution. (At the time, TSA was only involved in supervision, not actually staffing screening.)

      That article concludes with the ominous statement:

      The Transportation Department's inspector general office earlier conducted its own undercover tests of 32 airports after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and found screeners missed knives 70 percent of the time, guns 30 percent of the time and simulated explosives 60 percent of the time, said a person familiar with the report. Those tests were conducted before February, when airlines still supervised security checkpoints.

      So maybe the pre-9/11 tests weren't as rigorous, but TSA audits show it's actually gotten worse, even with billions of dollars more screening equipment and much more thorough regulations for detection.

    14. Re:The privatization fetish by AlanObject · · Score: 2

      This illustrates one way that a government could be run more like a business for the benefit of all taxpayers.

      What fools people is that SOME parts of government look very much like a business. They run office space. They procure stuff. They hire people.

      And yes they have some management principles in common. You can have either good or bad management in either business or in government. The fallacy is that you try to solve bad management in government by turning it into a business. That sounds neat and intuitive but it is wrong.

      Governments are accountable to the people. Or should be. Businesses are accountable to the shareholders. Or should be. When we say government should not be run like a business that is what we are talking about.

    15. Re:The privatization fetish by Ichijo · · Score: 1

      Businesses are accountable to the shareholders. Or should be.

      Not the customers?

      --
      Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
    16. Re:The privatization fetish by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 1

      You've obviously never worked within the framework of federal procurement. Where business practices for everything from road construction to R&D to janitorial services are one and the same. All glory to the RED TAPE!!!

    17. Re:The privatization fetish by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 1

      Accountability is something that requires teeth.

      In private enterprise, teeth is losing customers, or not having your contract renewed. In private business, that's going to happen for one of two reasons: market forces (ie a competitor with a better/faster/cheaper product) or managerial incompetence. In either case, the problem corrects itself when the business goes under. But because shareholders and beancounters, there can be extra sets of eyes to weed out managerial incompetence and workforce incompetence by firing underperformers. Or should be.

      Services provided by governments are usually (but not always) monopolies, so market forces aren't at play, so that's half the teeth missing. That leaves only the tension between incompetence and oversight. Except. Do you know how damn hard it is to fire a government employee at the state or federal level? Very. Why? Because those rules are written by governments and governments are susceptible to lobbying by (among other groups) public employee unions, who advocate for strong employment protections for their members. And unlike private sector unions, inflated labor costs do not correct themselves by dragging down the business; government doesn't go out of business and is empowered by our social contract to collect revenue at the point of a gun. So where's the teeth in that system?

      Not all government services lend themselves to privatization, but schools, highways, satellite launches, and ATC do.

      So for better quality, you can either undertake a drastic overhaul of the FAR and federal employment rules. Or you can spin off some things to private entities. Which is the fight that you have a chance of winning?

    18. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So were you a castaway on a deserted island during the whole tobacco industry/smoking debacle? Or are you just an idiot?

    19. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And those strong employee protections exist because corrupt politicians would fire people who pissed off their donors.

      It seems a segment of the US hates government because they hate equal application of the rule of law.

    20. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you serious?

      No, businesses are not accountable to the customers. Any overtures to the customer are based on the outdated and less and less practiced theory that happy customers are good for business.

    21. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was more profitable for Ford to accept the losses of 2,400 dead and horribly burned customers than to weld on an $11 patch over their gas tanks. So, yes I think under the right conditions, safety might be more expensive than assuming the costs of a crash for a fixable problem. After all, we have history to prove that companies have chosen profits over the civic or morally right thing to do.

    22. Re:The privatization fetish by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Invisible hand... is that the non-visible thingie in those hentai that rapes the poor widdle girls?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    23. Re:The privatization fetish by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The point is a different one.

      Private businesses are (or at least should be) concerned with turning a profit. Any kind of goods or services they provide is a means to that end. That good or service will be as good as necessary to make it good enough to be bought and it will serve a single purpose: Turning a profit.

      Governments are (or at least should be) concerned with providing goods or services. If that turns a profit, so be it, but the primary use governments get out of any operation that provides goods or services are actually those goods or services.

      Allow me to present an example.

      A private corporation running public transport will be concerned with profit, as stated above. It will do this in such a way that, by the laws of supply and demand, ticket prices might go up during hours when lots of people want to use their system (e.g. in the morning and evening hours) or install other ways to avoid buying more trains for those spike hours because during the off-hours those trains would run empty and be dead capital.

      A government's primary concern with public transport is to move people, and to keep people from using their own cars and contribute to the congestion of the roads. If necessary that means buying more trains because the peak hours is exactly when they need to move the most people to ensure people will rather use public transport rather than drive themselves, because that additional trains are still cheaper than having to build new roads. They will also probably operate those trains during the nights which is totally unprofitable, of course, but keeps people from driving their car to a bar and drive drunk on the way home, because government is also concerned with traffic accidents that will put a strain on other government budgets.

      You have very different goals between private corporations and governments. That's also why it's often nonsensical to compare operational costs for certain services. Yes, government running services may be more expensive. I'm fairly sure that a government run public transport system will be more expensive in this respect than one run by a private corporation, but as you can see there are other benefits you can gain from it. Your private corporation isn't concerned with your congested roads or the damage drunk drivers cause to your environment and population.

      They are in the game for profit, and nothing else.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    24. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      someone's profit margin

      For a non-profit, the margin is well defined and vanishingly slim.

    25. Re:The privatization fetish by Maritz · · Score: 1

      If the Very Big Corporation of America can save $1 by increasing the odds of hurting a child by 0.0000000001%, blah blah blah. Typical leftist groupthink.

      "I don't have a convincing response so I'll post a pathetic strawman and label it 'leftist' groupthink" - Dumbass AC

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    26. Re: The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "maximizing shareholder value".

      Many CEOs believe they have a legal obligation to do so.

    27. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe outside the USA (see Russia) it is financially viable to crash airliners but the civil lawyers here cash in on these kinds of accidents. Just four victims in one lawsuit received $48 million dollars. And there were many more. So BS on your "bean counters" argument.

    28. Re:The privatization fetish by Reziac · · Score: 1

      Right now, government is run like a crime syndicate. Is that better than being run like a normal business??

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    29. Re:The privatization fetish by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      I would point out that Ford no longer owned those vehicles- had already sold them to somebody else. Airlines OWN their airplanes, and if an airplane isn't flying, it isn't profitable.

      Though a different response did point out that the problem is more shortsighted than that. If the plane doesn't crash within three months of the lack of maintenance, it's an SEP. Which is a problem with modern market based capitalism in general.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    30. Re:The privatization fetish by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      The lives are small and unimportant to the bean counters.

      The loss of millions in equipment, especially once the insurance agencies catch on and no longer insure the planes, on the other hand, is a number anybody can see.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    31. Re:The privatization fetish by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      Until, of course, the insurance agencies catch on to the scam, and get out of the airliner insurance industry entirely.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    32. Re:The privatization fetish by Scroatzilla · · Score: 1

      You mean we should leave decision making to elitist lawyers who want everything to be State run, and to legislate through litigation? Wow, that sounds great! I would hate to give anyone with real-world experience the ability to staff and run projects based on some kind of useless meritocracy!

    33. Re:The privatization fetish by Ichijo · · Score: 1

      You have very different goals between private corporations and governments.

      On this point we agree. For example, a politician thinks the optimal amount of parking is the amount that ensures parking is abundant even when the price is zero. The politician ignores the cost to the business owner and ignores the lost tax revenue from the unproductive land set aside for parking, and creates an unfunded mandate that the business owner must provide this parking at their own expense. By requiring overbuilt parking lots, the politician has thus added an unnecessary law to the books (read on to learn why it is necessary) and must also make up the tax revenue shortfall some other way.

      On the other hand, a business owner thinks the optimal amount of parking is when the amortized cost of one additional space equals the revenue it would bring. If the parking lot is unpriced, sometimes it will get completely full and this will turn some customers away, but sometimes that's cheaper than building more parking.

      A government run like a business would look something like SFPark where on-street parking is priced according to location, time of day, and day of the week to keep all the parking spaces about 85% full at all times, similar to the way an airline prices seats up and down according to demand. This completely and permanently eliminates the need to force business owners to provide parking, it clears room within city borders for more businesses to help share the tax burden, it provides parking revenue to the city that owns that land, it creates demand for parking garages and transit (which helps make transit less of a drain on the city budget), it keeps the flow of customers to the business relatively constant throughout the day and the week, and it prevents traffic congestion from people looking for parking and from double parked cars.

      So you see, wonderful things happen when market forces are allowed to work in government.

      --
      Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
    34. Re:The privatization fetish by Ichijo · · Score: 1

      Services provided by governments are usually (but not always) monopolies, so market forces aren't at play

      See my answer below for a rebuttal.

      --
      Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
    35. Re:The privatization fetish by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      But is that what the government actually wants? Why would I want more parking inside the city? I could well want that people park outside of town and move into town with public transport to increase the quality of life for people living inside. I could even want shops inside the city to close and move to the outskirts where it's easier to build shopping centers with parking spaces.

      If you insist in running your town like a company, at least run it like a large one. Just because service A is more expensive doesn't mean that it's bad management, it can well be that this way they can save more than the "squandered" money on service B.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    36. Re:The privatization fetish by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Insurance companies are in it for the profit. They'll sell insurance at a price that allows them to make money. This means that, if Airline A has more claims than Airline B, Airline A will pay more for insurance. The exact same thing applies to my auto insurance: it goes up if I get in too many crashes.

      Therefore, safety pays, whether the airline buys insurance or self-insures.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    37. Re:The privatization fetish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except that schools, highways, satellite launches (though they're getting better) are all horrible examples of what goes wrong with privatization. You do know other countries have high highly privatized governments, right? Chile under the Pinochet regime was almost completely privatized, which rapidly lead to one of the worst recessions ever seen in the world. Once certain industries (like the ones mentioned above) were re-nationalized, things got much better. Now the people of Chile wouldn't privatize their government for any reason, and would likely tar and feather anyone who suggested it. That sentiment comes from trying and failing at something, but also from living under one of the most brutal dictators the world has known.

    38. Re:The privatization fetish by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 1

      Whoosh. Those strong employee protections exist because in a democracy, the squeekiest wheel gets the grease at the expense of everything else that doesn't waste its time and money on making the loudest noise. Part of the cost of doing business, sure, but let's recognize evil for evil and minimize it where possible.

  12. Never forget! by denzacar · · Score: 1

    We can't let terrorists win!
    It's corporations who must be the leaders in civilian deaths caused by crashed planes!
    Not a bunch of religious fanatics armed with box cutters.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
  13. What could possible go wrong? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Privatization of the entity responsible for ensuring safety levels met by airlines to be funded by those very same airlines. And it isn't like the airlines would back away from their responsibility to ensure safety for travelers by cost cutting measures that are approved by the organization that governs them, is it?

  14. Disband the TSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Get rid of SecurityTheater 2.0 where everyone has to take off their shoes and belts, and then get a virtual rape-scan and/or an actual finger-your-genitals rape.
    The rape thing is what put me over the edge. I won't fly again until they return to the old pre-rape SecurityTheater 1.0.

    p.s. They should also make it a felony for airport personnel to steal items from passenger luggage.

    1. Re:Disband the TSA by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      p.s. They should also make it a felony for airport personnel to steal items from passenger luggage.

      Wait, what is it? A misdemeanor or ... where in the world is theft NOT a felony?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  15. Re:Modernize! by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You mean like go back to the TWENTIETH CENTURY MODEL where airports or airlines ran the security lines?

    We are *NOT* talking about the TSA, we are talking about the FAA. Different.

    In *principle* this could work, but more likly, Trump will hand it off to some corporation that sends a lobbiest with a large bag of cash to suck his cock.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  16. Re:Modernize! by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

    ATC and the TSA are under completely separate agencies. What makes you think that a change in the way the FAA does business will change anything about Homeland Security?

    --
    SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  17. GPS-based air traffic control systems by dlleigh · · Score: 2

    GPS is fine when it works. What will happen to air travel when GPS goes down?

    This could happen through a technical fault (likely locally, unlikely globally) or via enemy action (jamming locally, destruction of the infrastructure globally).

    Remember that the C/A (coarse/acquisition) code that we civilians use for navigation was never meant for that. Like the Internet, various bits of old and new technology and capability gradually accreted into something upon which our entire economy depends. That something was not designed as a whole, and was certainly not designed for robustness and dependability. Ponder this the next time you step onto a plane.

    1. Re:GPS-based air traffic control systems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Came in to post the same question, but you beat me to it. It seems like this system will be drastically less resilient than the current one. That might work fine most of the time, but there's a central point of focus to disable the entire thing at once.

    2. Re:GPS-based air traffic control systems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then backup systems and procedures are used. Safety-critical organizations like ATC don't rely on a single system to never fail. Yes, efficiency and capacity goes down until systems are back online, but in the scenarios you describe (enemy action), reduced capacity in civil aviation may not be the top priority.

      (and yes, I used to work in ATC, so I know a little bit about controlling traffic during system failure. I've seen radar scopes go black from power failure, nobody died, no passengers even knew it happened...)

    3. Re:GPS-based air traffic control systems by brambus · · Score: 5, Informative

      "GPS" is used in the article simply because it's a nice buzzword that non-aviation people know, but it doesn't necessarily pertain to how the exact method of navigation is implemented in the aircraft. In aviation, the umbrella term for this kind of navigation is "RNAV", a somewhat counterintuitive backronym for "area navigation". Basically, it means your aircraft is capable of determining its position (subject to some quantifiable error) and navigating to an arbitrary set of geographic coordinates, rather than following ground-based navigational beacons. How the position is determined depends on the exact kind of RNAV system you have installed. Most modern airliners have a highly accurate dual- or triple-redundant inertial reference system (IRS), in addition to (usually) two GPS receivers and a couple of ground-based navigational aid receivers (usually VOR/DME). The aircraft's flight management computers (again, usually at least two) then use a complicated set of filtering algorithms to combine these inputs and compute an actual aircraft position and a CEP (circular error probable) value, which is then interpreted and displayed in the cockpit as a navigational precision value. RNAV procedures are designed for a minimum required navigational precision. Therefore, the loss of GPS reception doesn't manifest in the aircraft suddenly losing all sense of where it is located. Instead, the FMCs simply interpret it as the loss of a source of position data and carry on using the remaining good sources. Even without GPS, the inertial reference systems are highly accurate and rarely exceed more than +-1NM positional error even on very long flights. To further limit IRS drift, most modern FMCs automatically use the ground-based navigational aid receivers for periodic adjustments of the IRS platforms. They autotune a nearby VOR/DME station, read off magnetic radial and distance information and use that to correct IRS drift. This all before we even get into systems such as WAAS or SBAS, which are specifically designed to quickly detect and correct GPS transmission errors. High-quality aircraft GPS systems also include a set of features called RAIM (Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring), which means the GPS equipment will perform a receiver and predictive signal integrity check prior to commencing a critical phase of flight that might be dependent on the GPS equipment operating correctly.

    4. Re:GPS-based air traffic control systems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And all of that quite excellent and advanced positioning system is completely useless when you forget where you're going. "Hey Bob, are we heading to Manchester, NH or Manchester, UK?"

    5. Re:GPS-based air traffic control systems by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 3

      I knew as soon as I heard Trump talk about commercial aircraft not even having GPS capabilities he was full of shit.

      It's heart-warming to read intelligent comments like the one above to appreciate how fully full of shit one man can be.

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
    6. Re:GPS-based air traffic control systems by brambus · · Score: 1

      Glad I could help. Just FYI, GPS has been in use in aviation since the 90s (example). Full glass panel units with integrated GPS (example) have been around for over 10 years. On airliners, GPS integration usually manifests simply as new indications of the flight management system interfaces (+ improved capabilities of the system, note "GPS PRIMARY" on the linked picture and "ESTIMATED" accuracy of +-0.09NM). Generally, airlines don't like to alter their cockpits too much.

    7. Re:GPS-based air traffic control systems by Matt_Bennett · · Score: 1

      I suspect, that if the ATC system becomes GPS based, the government will have a waiver to the p(y) code key availability for commercial airliners. The KYK-13 was designed for secure storage/transfer of the keys, and the p(y) receivers are designed to not give up their keys. The precise GPS code was designed to be difficult to spoof, and jammers have this characteristic of being quite visible to those looking for them.

    8. Re:GPS-based air traffic control systems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The mention of GPS in this context was misleading. GPS factors in two different ways - for navigation and surveillance. GPS itself is just the primary position source used for many navigation and surveillance functions, so when you lose it, you only have degraded performance. There are extensive requirements for the GPS performance necessary to support different functions. The GPS receiver in your phone wouldn't cut it for use on an aircraft. Even the GPS receiver used for one function may not be sufficient to meet the requirements for another function. And even a suitable GPS receiver may not work if the integration isn't done properly. Failures happen all the time and are taken into consideration when requirements are specified. You're not the first to think of this, though it's common to find people here who think they are.

      But let's say all GPS capability is lost. Navigation would have to fall back to inertial navigation systems and ground-based navaids. There's been a push to shut down some ground-based navaids (because they cost money to operate), but the "What if GPS goes down?" question has some people rethinking that. In this case, your errors go up and you need to maintain greater separation to fly safely. That reduces airspace capacity and causes delays in congested areas (like airports or pretty much all of Europe). It would be a pain, but planes would still be able to fly. Oceanic flights could get a bit tricky for some planes depending on their inertial performance. And, back on the original topic, privatizing ATC doesn't really come into play here except if the ground-based navaids are part of the deal. That's the part to keep an eye on, the GPS part is already in use.

      The surveillance side is probably why GPS was brought up in this context. ADS-B is intended to replace secondary surveillance radar, which is presently an interrogator-response system. ADS-B turns it into a broadcast system, which would enable anyone, not just an ATC network operating radar systems, to build a local air picture and makes it possible to build an air picture in areas without full primary radar coverage. To make it happen, you need all aircraft operating in a particular class of airspace to be broadcasting their position and intent information (FAA mandated to be in place by 1 January 2020, but not everyone will get there in time) and you need a network of ground-based receivers feeding into ATC systems (space-based receivers are in development for commercial services but could face challenges due to antenna blockage). Without GPS, you lose precise location, but you still get barometric altitude. Combine that with primary radar and you can still build a workable air picture in areas where primary radar is available. So, again, you're operating with some degraded performance but should be able to function as long as you haven't dismantled too much of the ground infrastructure.

      The other answer is that, with everyone putting up their own constellations these days, you can improve resiliency by using multi-constellation receivers. That does add more complexity on the error detection side and adds political issues to the mix, but it could allow for some operations if an entire constellation goes down. It's not a network wide solution though, as equipage will vary. And I don't think all of the requirements have been developed yet. But it's an option.

      Bottom line: ATC itself is not GPS-based, not directly at least. Most pilots aren't navigating by the stars or signal fires anymore, but there's a lot more than GPS in use and the failure modes are well understood.

    9. Re:GPS-based air traffic control systems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I knew as soon as I heard Trump talk about commercial aircraft not even having GPS capabilities he was full of shit.

      It's heart-warming to read intelligent comments like the one above to appreciate how fully full of shit one man can be.

      Except he's actually right. While Brambus' comment nicely lays out how an RVSM capable airliner's RNAV system works, there are plenty of commercial aircraft that are not set up to that standard. Keep in mind that 'commercial aircraft' encompasses much more than just the airlines. There are hundreds of aircraft operating on a daily basis in the national airspace system without GPS.

  18. No radar = drones and terrorists invisible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What happens when you move from radar to beacon and GPS tracking? 9/11.

    With no active radar to track flights coming into (for example) New York City, it was impossible to "see" the two airline planes before they crashed into The World Trade Center as the beacons had been turned off.

    1. Re:No radar = drones and terrorists invisible by dlleigh · · Score: 1

      Air traffic control radar can't see airliners by itself at any reasonable distance. Planes are equipped with transponders that send out radio signals when the plane is "painted" by the ATC radar. If civilian radars can't see transponderless airliners, they will have no hope of seeing small drones.

      Military radar is another matter.

    2. Re:No radar = drones and terrorists invisible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How far is far? We've got primary(reflection based) radars that see either 60 miles or 200-250 miles. We also have started networking them together in various towers, TRACONs and centers to extend the range and provide overlapping coverage for backup. I believe there is primary radar coverage more or less all over the continental US. We can easily see planes without transponders. However, since secondary (transponder) based radar is much more accurate and is a cleaner display, primary radar is typically turned off on scopes. But ever since 9/11, there is at least one display kept on and observed which has primary radar displayed at all times. Drones are another matter. Even if they show up, something with a signal that small is likely to be ignored by either the radar processor or the controller.

  19. leper colony by bugs2squash · · Score: 2

    Presumably there will be an up-charge for "premium traffic control".

    --
    Nullius in verba
  20. Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So from a non profit group to a group of people concerned with profits...

    That doesn't seem like they will make impartial decisions

  21. Let the indutries set up councils to self-govern? by davecb · · Score: 2, Informative

    And then you can have a supreme council, a council of the heads of councils if you will.

    This was briefly the government of Italy, with ministers of Agriculture and Forestry, Corporations, Finance and so on. This was called the Grand Council of Fascism, which see.

    --
    davecb@spamcop.net
  22. Big mistake by dcavanaugh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is a bad idea that the airline lobby floats every few years. When the Democrats had control, they almost bought it until cooler heads prevailed. With Republicans in charge, it's time for another try. There really isn't much that the Federal government couldn't improve with privatization, but this is one of those things.

    If this passes, the airlines will dominate the privatized company, transferring as much cost as they can to general aviation, while abusing their power for the purpose of limiting competition. They will dumb-down the controllers, resulting in chaos. It's hard to believe anyone could make the air travel industry any less accountable than it already is, but empowering an industry with a notoriously poor reputation of policing itself would be one way to do it.

    Have we learned nothing from privatized airport security? Although I despise TSA, I have to admit that privatized airport security prior to 9/11 was absolutely useless. TSA, for all its well-documented flaws, ended the concept of minimum wage and constant turnover among security agents.

    1. Re:Big mistake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So true.

      For you non-aviators out there: What would you think if the highway system were given over to a committee formed from the trucking and busing industry? Do you honestly believe that would be good for privately owned vehicles? Do you believe if there were a token representative from the American Automobile Association, they would have any power to sway such a committee?

      Now as far as the TSA there is nothing good to be said about it, unless you think jobs programs are good. The TSA is useless in every other regard and does not serve the public at all.

  23. NextGen is not great! by Elentar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The NextGen program has had several high-profile failures. The implementation of new routes in Phoenix resulted in a large number of complaints and lawsuits against the FAA. The more recent changes in the SF Bay Area including routing a much higher number of aircraft over Palo Alto and lower elevations in the Santa Cruz Mountains, both of which have angered a great many residents.

    Jet traffic brings noise pollution and air pollution to the corridors they travel, resulting in health impacts (though difficult to measure) and sometimes significant reductions in property value. The previous corridors have been used for decades and the impact is well-understood by residents in those areas; the change was not well-communicated before being implemented and residents were mostly caught unawares.

    The benefits of these changes include a higher volume of traffic to airports, increasing airport profits; more efficient routes for airlines, increasing airline profits; and potentially cheaper fares for customers resulting from the first two changes. Speaking personally, I would rather keep my home value and quieter skies.

    --
    The wheel it turns, around and around, with an ancient rumbling sound.
    1. Re:NextGen is not great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Jet traffic... sometimes [results in] significant reductions in property value. ... The previous corridors have been used for decades and the impact is well-understood by residents in those areas; the change was not well-communicated before being implemented and residents were mostly caught unawares. ... Speaking personally, I would rather keep my home value and quieter skies.

      Speaking personally, fuck your property values. Your property rights extend to ~500 feet above the ground (or above the highest structure in the area) and no more. Any higher than that and you can ask nicely, but are likely to be told to go take a hike.

      Homes are a place to live, not an investment vehicle. It's fifty-plus years of "We must maintain or increase property values at all costs!" policies that have resulted in the recent and current obscene housing prices. When governmental policies increase property values, they must _necessarily_ drive up the cost of housing. There's no way around that.

      It's regrettable that some people have had their financial plans derailed for the greater good. However, an even greater harm has been done by policies that treat housing as investment vehicles.

      So -on the balance- fuck your property values.

    2. Re:NextGen is not great! by djinn6 · · Score: 1

      The benefits of these changes include a higher volume of traffic to airports, increasing airport profits; more efficient routes for airlines, increasing airline profits; and potentially cheaper fares for customers resulting from the first two changes. Speaking personally, I would rather keep my home value and quieter skies.

      Do you honestly think that privatizing air traffic control will do anything other than further increase airline and airport profits at the expense of your peace and quiet? If so, I have a bridge to sell you.

  24. Makes me wonder how they would handle 9/11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When 9/11 came around, all flights were grounded and FAA officials nationwide were active diverting planes already in the air. Will privatization reduce our ability to respond under similar circumstances?

    1. Re:Makes me wonder how they would handle 9/11 by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Quite the opposite! This would ensure that no flights would be grounded just because of some minor mishaps and all planes would arrive on time. At their destination or some house.

      Do you have a faint idea how much profit was lost that day due to planes not flying?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Makes me wonder how they would handle 9/11 by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      They'd just say sod it and tell everybody to find their own way. Imagine all the extra staff to deal with something like that, it'd kill somebody's quarterly bonus.

      Assuming their lawyers screwed up and the SLA is written so they're on the hook for any losses, just claim off the insurance. If that doesn't cover it declare bankruptcy and set up under a new name the day after.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  25. Whoooooosh (nt) by Brannon · · Score: 1

    nt

  26. Republicans are anti progress by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 0

    Yes dear AC, like WMD in Iraq, no anthropomorphic climate change, voodoo economics, bombing middle eastern countries will make them peaceful, pollution is good for you, nuclear power is clean as hell and produces no waste products, privatization makes things cheaper, guns make everyone safer.... hell, I could go on all day.

    Your post is so amusing. No wonder it is anonymous.

    I hear 'ya, brother!

    Now, can you tell me more about the 31 genders?

    1. Re:Republicans are anti progress by vadim_t · · Score: 2

      Huh? Who cares?

      If some academic out there actually came up with 31 genders that's really no concern of mine. Now pollution and climate change, that actually affects things. I can ignore people in ivory towers coming up with complicated classification schemes, but being ignoring unable to breathe is kind of hard.

      Somebody is actually spending time feeling outraged about this 31 genders nonsense?

    2. Re:Republicans are anti progress by naubol · · Score: 1

      I hear 'ya, brother!

      Now, can you tell me more about the 31 genders?

      You have your nuts, we have ours.

      We don't let ours run the country.

      --
      Reality is a slackware box running on a 386 tucked away in god's sock drawer.
    3. Re:Republicans are anti progress by mrclevesque · · Score: 1

      "If some academic out there actually came up with 31 genders..."

      I'm not sure it was an academic, more likely it was someone from the lunatic fringe of some protest movement.

    4. Re:Republicans are anti progress by walterhpdx · · Score: 1

      It's the intellectual equivalent of nullifying your argument by saying, "Nahh nahh poopiehead." "It's clear, sir, that you make quite valid points. But I'm going to comment on something outrageous to call attention to the ridiculousness of it all, while trying to minimize your logic. Also, you're a doodie." You know, something like that.

    5. Re:Republicans are anti progress by vadim_t · · Score: 3, Informative

      Oh, goddammit. I finally decided to spend sometime to figure out what's all this nonsense about.

      It's an ad: https://heatst.com/culture-war...

      Somebody just made an ad to say "here we're accepting of everybody, regardless of what you call yourself", and then posted a list of 31 terms, some of which seem duplicates to me (eg, Male-To-Female and MTF both appear in the list, as well as several variations on "trans").

      Basically, whoever made that list tried listing absolutely every possible term they could think of just to drive home that point. That's all there is to it. It's like doing the same thing for racism and then filling a page with Wikipedia's list of nationalities.

      And this is what people decided to get all outraged about? Sheesh. People have too much free time these days.

    6. Re:Republicans are anti progress by vadim_t · · Score: 1

      There's no valid points that are being made here. I finally figured out that all this hubhub is over some random ad NYC posted, and that was probably made by some random intern that just spent a while looking for every gender related term they could find so that it would look as inclusive as possible, and never thought anybody would even think of making a big deal of it.

    7. Re: Republicans are anti progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's no valid points that are being made here.

      That's Okian Warrior for you, a troll through and through.

      He's still sore over the other made up stuff he freaked out about. Like the 57 states, the gold drapes, the pledge, the birth certificate, the vegetables, the death list and the Mexicans.

    8. Re:Republicans are anti progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The original citation is likely a pun on Baskin Robins's 31 flavors. For those who haven't seen a Baskin Robins store, it is an ice cream parlor which offers 31 flavors of ice cream.

      I doubt there is any real science behind 31 genders, as it would be the kind of fake science which aims to make sure the end result supports the joke.

    9. Re:Republicans are anti progress by Maritz · · Score: 1

      Somebody is actually spending time feeling outraged about this 31 genders nonsense?

      Some people spend most of their time being outraged about that sort of thing. I only know one personally. He's stupid.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    10. Re:Republicans are anti progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      An ad? So there are people who can't tell the difference between science and marketing. That explains a lot.

    11. Re:Republicans are anti progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They are missing "Lady boy"!

    12. Re:Republicans are anti progress by Triklyn · · Score: 1

      until they try to pass legislation to enforce compliance with gender discrimination laws. or classify misgendering as a hate crime, as they're trying to do in canada.

  27. I admit I'm ignorant on a lot of this buuut.... by Verdatum · · Score: 1

    I can't get too furious about this. I'm reading all the things that could go wrong in the comments and why it's a bad idea, and, it's not anything too terrifying. Cost of airfare is always gonna go up one way or another. If it goes up too much, then seats are empty, and airlines lose money; the market adjusts. And if this proposed company screws up, then oversight still drops in and starts making changes. I know it feels weird for Trump to support something that isn't the dumbest idea ever, but, how about we agree to this one, if you give the Democrats something in return for that support...y'know, the way politics used to behave?

    1. Re:I admit I'm ignorant on a lot of this buuut.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Democrats didn't get anything from Republicans for the previous 8 years, why would they start getting anything now that they have even LESS influence or control? I agree, it'd be nice to go back to the days when politics was about policy and it was functional and worked, but if you're hoping that will happen under this administration, then I'd unfortunately have to agree that you're ignorant on a lot of this, just with "this" being something other than what you meant. I'd love to be wrong, but I'm not going to be.

  28. Nav Canada by brianerst · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Canada did the exact same thing (privatize to an NGO) in 1996.

    Nav Canada, the NGO that operates Canada's air traffic control, has won three IATA Eagle Awards for Best Air Traffic Controller since 2001. It also closely coordinates with the existing FAA ATC system as the Canadian and US airspace are extremely interrelated (perhaps the most so in the world).

    Canada is one of about 50 countries that have gone this route (Britain, Germany, Australia and New Zealand are among the countries that have done so). Nav Canada even sells their system (Australia runs on it) - we could potentially just buy a solution.

    1. Re:Nav Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yes, several countries have ATC run by an NGO, but the difference is in who controls that NGO. You mention Germany, but the DFS in Germany is 100% owned and controlled by the German state, Lufthansa does not have representation. Are there any examples of ATC NGOs where airlines DO have substantial control?

    2. Re:Nav Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I gather you're new to the concept of the United States of America. Otherwise, you'd know better than to posit that because Canada has done something successfully, the USA could accomplish it to.

      Adorable!

    3. Re:Nav Canada by Chuck+Chunder · · Score: 1

      Canada is one of about 50 countries that have gone this route (Britain, Germany, Australia and New Zealand are among the countries that have done so). Nav Canada even sells their system (Australia runs on it) - we could potentially just buy a solution.

      Perhaps not a bad idea then, though maybe America would be better off outsourcing the running of their elections and their health care system first.

      --
      Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
    4. Re:Nav Canada by Ksevio · · Score: 1

      But they're not really better than the US - just a private corporation rather than a government entity. Not sure what system you're referring to specifically, but Australia is working to restructure their ATC infrastructure.

    5. Re:Nav Canada by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Canada did the exact same thing (privatize to an NGO) in 1996.

      Nav Canada, the NGO that operates Canada's air traffic control, has won three IATA Eagle Awards for Best Air Traffic Controller since 2001. It also closely coordinates with the existing FAA ATC system as the Canadian and US airspace are extremely interrelated (perhaps the most so in the world).

      Canada is one of about 50 countries that have gone this route (Britain, Germany, Australia and New Zealand are among the countries that have done so). Nav Canada even sells their system (Australia runs on it) - we could potentially just buy a solution.

      That is a bit of a misnomer, the operation of ATC has been privatised, but not the organisations that control it. For Australia Air Services Australia (government owned entity) is in control of licensing controllers and setting policy.

      No developed nation that I know of lets airlines run the ATC (in Oz and the UK, ATC is run by the corporation controlling the airport) as that would be foolhardy and quite possibly dangerous because they will put profit above safety.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    6. Re:Nav Canada by FilmedInNoir · · Score: 1

      Nav Canada is only for the navigation system. Canada's FAA is TCCA. TCCA is a branch of Transport Canada. Transport Canada is still part of the government. The issue here is not navigation, it's things like... How old can a plane be before it needs to be retired? What's the least amount of maintenance that needs to be performed on it? Why do we need seats on the plane? Why can't everyone just stand up and hold a bar like on a subway?

      --
      Sig. Sig. Sputnik
    7. Re:Nav Canada by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      I gather you're new to the concept of the United States of America. Otherwise, you'd know better than to posit that because Canada has done something successfully, the USA could accomplish it to.

      Adorable!

      Hey, it could happen. Especially right now. We live in strange times.
      Sometimes it seems we live in one of those soviet sayings. In soviet russia the car drives you... actually that may happen too.

    8. Re:Nav Canada by houghi · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately that does not mean that the US will go an identical way.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  29. Poor Tax by s.petry · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Money coming from tax payers means that everyone, from poor to rich pay for the services. As opposed to people who can afford to use the airlines paying an additional fee to support the services they actually use. Considering the ultra wealthy can afford to pay a lesser rate for their taxes (the 80,000 page US tax code isn't that large to make it fair) it's the rest of the population paying for this today!

    This is the problem with a whole lot of projects and schemes where both the far left and far right claim that we need Government to be our savior. Government tends to be horrible at everything, and maintaining and growing their tax funded budget is prioritized over everything else.

    I'll really have to consider this more deeply over the next few days, but I'm fine with it as is. The FAA seems to be maintaining oversight of standards, investigations into incidents, etc.. and if that's the case I will remain fine with it.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    1. Re:Poor Tax by peragrin · · Score: 1

      I present to you. Windows me, windows longhorn, windows Vista

      Large complicated projects tend to go off the rails especially when they get done by committee. Instead of a focused task master.

      The FAA is trying to upgrade 1000's of installations all of which must communicate with each other, must not disrupt current communications or data and the new system isn't compatible with the old one.

      If someone screws up one line of code people!e die by the hundreds.

      Do you trust your coding enough not to have any bugs?

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    2. Re:Poor Tax by The+Real+Dr+John · · Score: 1

      I would like to see a parallel system set up that can be tested before taking over. It makes the most sense. They need to transfer to GPS but I think that ground based backup is a good idea in case of solar storms, orbiting debris issues, etc. But it should be a government run system without any profit motive, or any motive to cut costs whatsoever.

      I also think that there should be a big tax on first class and business class travel to help pay for it.

      --
      A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
    3. Re:Poor Tax by sjames · · Score: 1

      Government tends to be horrible at everything

      We all like to think that, but then we have tech support at any ISP, warranty service practically everywhere, insurance and their crazy rules and forms everywhere, private prisons lobbying for harsher sentencing, and when that's not enough actually bribing judges to send more juvenile offenders to detention for as long as the law allows, major banks helping drug lords and terrorists launder money, Diesel-gate, Wells Fargo, etc.

    4. Re:Poor Tax by soc_cost_priv_gains · · Score: 1

      Municipal Internet service versus the large telecoms is another well known example.

    5. Re:Poor Tax by Maritz · · Score: 1

      where both the far left and far right claim that we need Government to be our savior.

      Far left? What you thinking... Trotskyism? Leninism?

      Far right? National socialism fans? Mussolini acolytes?

      If you're from the US, you probably have weird ideas about what constitutes 'far' left and right. Seems to frequently be the case.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    6. Re:Poor Tax by Maritz · · Score: 1

      The whole 'public sector is terrible at everything' mantra is spewed out constantly by powerful forces that want everybody to think that. Some willing acolytes gobble it up and spew it out everywhere. And yet look at the state of your healthcare system. Yeah, sure, private is always better.

      Seems some libertarians would like nothing better than sticking a quarter into a toll gate every few streets and scraping the shit off their steaks. Not to forget, suing some local company when they realise they've been drinking arsenic for the last ten years.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    7. Re:Poor Tax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tax all fare classes, there is no need for air travel to be as cheap as it is today.

    8. Re:Poor Tax by s.petry · · Score: 1

      where both the far left and far right claim that we need Government to be our savior.

      Far left? What you thinking... Trotskyism? Leninism?

      Far right? National socialism fans? Mussolini acolytes?

      If you're from the US, you probably have weird ideas about what constitutes 'far' left and right. Seems to frequently be the case.

      Pretty much yes. While our far left in the US won't proclaim love for Trotsky/Lenin the principles they are pushing for are exactly the same thing. Our far right pushes many of the same principles as Mussolini's fascism, but won't come out and say they are for fascism. If you believe that the people in the US have weird ideas about far left/right, consider the problem is with you and not them. I have to be careful talking politics with people from the UK, because their idea of a liberal is considerably different than the US idea. I have to adjust during those conversations, and am mature enough not to call them "weird" because our language differs slightly.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    9. Re:Poor Tax by s.petry · · Score: 1

      And I present to you Linux, System V, BSD, Solaris, IRIX, HP-UX, AIX, OSX, IOS, and Android. All big projects with big impact which have consistently upgraded and rolled out because they are not controlled by a massive bureaucracy like Microsoft products, but by function and customer input.

      Your example of one giant privately owned set of failures is exactly why Government sucks at everything, and certainly not an example of Government success.

      Do I trust my code to be bug free? Invalid question. The question should be "would you write better code if you worked for the Government as opposed to a private company?" The answer to that is probably not. If anything, I have less incentive to write better code working in a Government job. I get cost of living increases and retirement benefits that can't be matched in the private sector if I can stick out 20-30 years in a Government job.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    10. Re:Poor Tax by peragrin · · Score: 1

      Linux hasten v Solaris have had major bugs and issues in many of there releases is x has had major issues as well as iOS.

      Don't even get me started on android. Every vendor has its own version and they are not updated properly.

      Lastly half of what you described are only part of the os's. Don't forget every GUI module and program for them to actually do work.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    11. Re:Poor Tax by s.petry · · Score: 1

      So your answer is that if Government does it, it's perfect! You seem to forget how many glitches and problems there have been with _EVERY_ project, including and especially Government projects. In fact, why don't you show me a single Government program which is perfect to prove your point. Just one. Warning: I have worked DOD, am a US Veteran, and currently hold a clearance.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    12. Re:Poor Tax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would like to see a parallel system set up that can be tested before taking over.

      Good news! That's exactly what they're doing.

      They need to transfer to GPS

      That's not what's happening, GPS is just the buzzword that most people are familiar with. It's like saying that self-driving cars will be great because they're electric. We have electric cars now and we have GPS in aircraft now. The change is elsewhere.

      but I think that ground based backup is a good idea in case of solar storms, orbiting debris issues, etc.

      Ground systems aren't completely going away and there are a lot of different pieces in play here. It's complicated.

      But it should be a government run system without any profit motive, or any motive to cut costs whatsoever.

      Now you're just talking crazy.

      I also think that there should be a big tax on first class and business class travel to help pay for it.

      We can't do that, those are the job creators. Tax the leeches in the back of the plane. Serves 'em right for thinking that they have any business sharing a plane with people who matter.

    13. Re:Poor Tax by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Why don't you show me a single private enterprise program which is perfect?

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    14. Re:Poor Tax by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Why would I argue something I never stated and would never agree with? GP stated that Government should do it because private companies have had problems. That implies rather strongly that Government is infallible and perfect, therefor should be doing everything. In particular, that Government should be maintaining ATC systems instead of a non-profit consortium.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    15. Re:Poor Tax by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      And your demand for a perfect government project implies rather strongly that private enterprise has some. Both have problems, and the trick is to balance them. I don't know anyone who claims government is perfect, only people who claim other people claim government is perfect, and I can't see a single reference to government in the post you were replying to.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    16. Re:Poor Tax by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Absolutely false. My demand to show me a perfect Government project is based on GP's claim that private companies make mistakes so should not be involved in ATC. Your claim about a lacking reference means that you can't follow basic logic. The Federal Government runs the ATC, so when they claim that private companies should not work on the program who does that leave holding the work? You win if you say "Federal Government".

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    17. Re:Poor Tax by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I reread the thread, and I didn't see a claim that governments are perfect. I saw what looked like an implicit claim that government should run ATC, nothing explicit. It mentioned mistakes of private companies, but never said anything about government. Governments tend to make certain kinds of mistakes, and private industry tends to make other kinds of mistakes. The argument that a government would be better suited to run X is not based on the perfection of government, but on the idea that the mistakes private industry would make in this particular case are worse than the mistakes government would make in this particular case.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  30. Re:ATC are lazy know-nothings and should all be fi by John.Banister · · Score: 1

    Sure, Iranian women wearing niqabs with those Ballet Fantastique - Esther Costume Inspiration gowns and using big translucent displays with the Minority Report gestural interface. I think I saw them in MiB 17 when I was dreaming once. Or, we could go with boring old Watson.

  31. Flase attribution much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I really hate it when people use false attributions to make arguments or bolster their point of view. A prime example is the sub's assertion that the airlines:

    "...occasionally physically assault or drag passengers off their planes."

    No. What the airlines do is report passengers who refuse to follow crew instructions to Law Enforcement. Law enforcement officers are the ones who use force to remove unruly or uncooperative passengers. Basically, if you refuse to do what an airline crew member tells you to do, they will call the cops to come make you do it. The officers involved are not employees of the private airline companies, they are employees of the government.

     

  32. New Revenue Stream by perew · · Score: 1

    Airlines will now be able to offer flights with positive air traffic control as a premium upgrade.

    *cha-ching*

    1. Re: New Revenue Stream by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Ground Traffic Control says they can get us into a gate right away for only $10,000; otherwise we will retain our two hour tarmac hold. We must respond within ten minutes. After all passengers have swiped their credit cards, we will split the bill evenly, plus a $3.50 service fee per passenger."

    2. Re: New Revenue Stream by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "ATC say they're really sorry about the extreme turbulence, but the clear air is in high demand. The going rate is currently $20,000."

    3. Re: New Revenue Stream by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congressman Assails Air Traffic Monopoly
      "Current regulations require a single provider for all US air traffic control. This is un-American! Companies should be free to provide, and airplanes free to choose, air traffic control. Competition always produces innovation and better service. By allowing competition we'll soon have more airplanes sharing the skies, and even more safely than today. I am introducing legislation to remove all regulation of the air traffic control industry, so fliers will soon be enjoying more flexible flying, better safety, and lower costs."

  33. At the cost of General Aviation by Old-Claimjumper · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Although many don't see it, America leads in freedom of personal aviation. I can use my aircraft just as I use my car. I have proper FAA licenses and medical certificates. I am instrument rated and can fly with the same rules as the airlines. I can also get in my plane and go camping at a remote strip or visit a restaurant in the next town's airport without requesting permission from anyone just as I would with my car. If I fly into big central airports following the same rules as the airlines then I can and do coordinate with the proper FAA officials. My use of these facilities is fully funded by taxes levied on the aviation gasoline that I burn n the plane. The idea here is that as a free American I can choose my mode of transportation within the nation's transportation system on the same basis as anyone else, private or corporate. For the most part, my aircraft is like my car.

    With a switch from costs coming from taxes on aviation gasoline to "user fees" for various specific operations and a switch from a government control system to a private NGO the freedom to use an aircraft much like a car for personal transportation will mostly disappear. This is exactly what has happened in (e.g.) Europe where(for example) fees for each takeoff and landing effectively stop practice at small airports.
    Then a governing board that will inevitably be dominated by the airlines will set the rules so that those pesky private aircraft will be effectively gone.

    If you like this idea, then please accept the same for our highways. Each time you drive to the store for some milk, every time you take a weekend at the lake, you must first file a "drive plan" with a corporate board run by the trucking industry. Then you will give a credit card number so that your driveway exit, road use, and parking use fees will be automatically paid for the trip.

    And if you think that this is tin-foil-hat stuff, please look at the rules for private aircraft in Europe and the rest of the world.
    This is the death of one more freedom that we currently have in this great country.

    1. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How can the new ATC charge if GA does not interact with them?

      Seems like GA will stop using ATC except when they have to.

      Which will make everybody less safe.

    2. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by brambus · · Score: 1

      Simple: mandate a Mode S or ADS-B Out transponder that automatically transmits your aircraft registration. Soon as you enter controlled airspace, even without radio contact, you get billed and get it nice and collated at the end of the month in your mail. Have a nice day citizen.

    3. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by Patent+Lover · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't worry too much. Like so many Trump ideas where he's going to make something great, he's short on specifics. This type of thing would take some major legislation. Way more than the page and a half he could read in one day.

    4. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Same way that car drivers pay for their highways--taxes on gasoline. This is how GA pays for its share of ATC and the airports, and it pretty much works just fine.

    5. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Freedom scares people. They think if they give it up they will be safer. In the U.S. we are free to fail, but a lot of people would prefer it if everyone were equally unfree and fed.

    6. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by joe_frisch · · Score: 1

      I'm also a pilot and user fees will make things personally very difficult - possibly forcing me to give up flying after 30 years.

      I see the argument - from a pure efficiency point of view, light GA is a waste. An "efficient" world will have airlines and corporate jets, with flight training done in empty parts of the country.

      The highway example isn't really right - the majority of highway traffic (in numbers and economic value) is personal automobiles. They remain an efficient mode of transportation for many people. While there are some people, the above poster probably one of them, who make efficient use of their planes, for most it is just a hobby.

      I wish I had a good argument against it, other than it takes away one of the things that I personally thought was great about America.

    7. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by mentil · · Score: 0

      IIRC most personal planes still run on leaded fuel. Even the 'low-lead' variant contains shocking amounts of lead. It's recently been shown that use of leaded gasoline is highly correlated with rise in crime due to lowered intelligence. Eliminating this source of lead pollution will be better for our air and society. I'm sure recreational flyers can find something like driving down Route 66 or camping at a wildlife refuge that give a similar feeling of Freedom yet don't harm children's brain development.

      --
      Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    8. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by chihowa · · Score: 1

      This isn't one of Trump's ideas, though. This has been pitched by the airlines multiple times in the last few decades and you can be sure the specifics are already all drafted out and ready for Congress to vote on without reading.

      --
      If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
    9. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by slimjim8094 · · Score: 2

      One of the things the FAA is doing is coordinating the development of unleaded 100-octane avgas. There's been a number of promising developments and some are already on the market. Once the FAA finishes its tests and (as expected) is able to give blanket approval to use the new fuels in every plane where 100LL is currently certified, everyone'll switch over pretty quickly.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
    10. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why should I subsidize your rich person's hobby of flying?

    11. Re:At the cost of General Aviation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You shouldn't and aren't. ATC is paid for from taxes on aviation fuel, which you aren't buying since you don't fly.

      And also, you don't have to be rich to fly. Almost every pilot I know paid less than $40,000 for their plane, with a bunch who spent less than half of that. Would you call anyone with a second car or a boat rich? It's about the same cost. I drive a $2,000 car so I can afford to fly a club owned plane. I make well under the average salary for a small midwestern city. Although there are those pilots that can afford a new plane or a jet, the majority are not of that income class and fly a 30,40 or 50 year old plane.

  34. Billions and Billions by jlgreer1 · · Score: 0

    I used to be a pretty serious aviator. The FAA has been "upgrading" their air traffic control system for decades. In the words of Carl, they have wasted "Billions, and Billions" of dollars over those decades without much progress. It has all been smoke and mirrors, computer systems that don't work, and more dollars. As with just about everything, the private sector could do it a lot better than government.

    1. Re:Billions and Billions by by+(1706743) · · Score: 1

      I don't doubt that the FAA has huge inefficiencies, but AFAIK their track record (safety-wise) is fairly good (though I don't have my ear to the ground on this so I could be totally wrong).

      On the other hand, we all know how BA's recent handling of IT worked out. Perhaps an inappropriate comparison, of course...

  35. Aren't we doing this with cars by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

    by turning driving over to big corporate driverless cars?

    1. Re:Aren't we doing this with cars by Tempest451 · · Score: 1

      No we are not. FTA still sets the standards

    2. Re:Aren't we doing this with cars by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      Do they have an equivalent of the FAA's DO-178x?

  36. The Next Crash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I guess we'll see whether or not Amy Fraher's observations about deregulation of aviation in "The Next Crash" are correct. A reading of this book reads to me much like Geekonomics by David Rice, and it doesn't seem like LESS oversight is going to help either industry.

    Industry stakeholders .. who will represent passengers? O_o Seems like letting the industry self reguate was really effective for housing lenders, lets do it with airplanes!

  37. The only way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Really? So it's not possible for congress to increase funding and set a mandate for the FAA to modernize? If that is true, your country is truly on the path beyond second world (because you can't seriously think you're first world... unless you've never traveled).

  38. Musk revolutionized the electric vehicle market by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ,Bezos revolutionized the eCommerce sector, what's so controversial about the FAA not doing as good of a job as a private entity that an article warrants being allowed through Slashdot's post filters? I say, cool, let 'em have it.

  39. Let's not forget by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    ...the FAA's update has been called "the worst boondoggle ever", the (Iirc) 3rd failed update effort, eating tens of billions of dollars.

    https://www.google.com/amp/amp...

    I know the narrative is that "every trump idea is stupid" but this plan has worked several times in other countries quite well, including Canada...

    --
    -Styopa
    1. Re:Let's not forget by Boronx · · Score: 2

      The problem is really the plan. Trump undoubtedly doesn't have one yet. If he ever gets around to it, it will be a horrible give away that threatens key pillars of ATC.

      It's kind of like the Iraq war. Was getting rid of Saddam a bad idea? Not too bad. Does that mean we should let Dick Cheney do it? Hell no. The dudes a moron and also doesn't give a shit.

    2. Re:Let's not forget by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know the narrative is that "every trump idea is stupid" but this plan has worked several times in other countries quite well, including Canada...

      Every Trump idea may not be stupid, but hasn't every Trump implementation of an idea been stupid?

  40. The Conspiracy Continues by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I personally knew some GOP planners; this is how they plan:

    1) Purposely fuck up government services as much as they possibly can without getting into trouble themselves: get people to hate stuff they like.

    2) FUD against government services and politicians... Uncertantity and Doubt = lower voter turn out. Fear (often connected to Hate) is central to their campaigning.

    3) Run on reform for said services counting on the public to not be smart enough to see wolves in sheeps' clothing.

    4) After the public is upset enough, privatize services for huge profit. Continue FUD and coverups until it becomes the new normal. Then just maintain it as people forget the past (before they screwed it up) plus without oversight people don't know a fraction of what goes on compared to before.

    Their plan for education was to make people hate public education which is highly popular. So it involves much more to ruin the system-- such as pitting groups against each other. I asked "won't that harm a generation of students?" and they replied "it's worth it, we can handle the loss of a few generations; besides the best kids will go to private schools and that should keep the USA #1." I'm not kidding. Their ideology is stronger than their religion.

    https://magicmoneytree.net/

    1. Re:The Conspiracy Continues by dcavanaugh · · Score: 1

      Spare me the straw-man arguments. There is hardly any difference between Republicans paid by PAC money and Democrats paid by PAC money. Both parties have more in common than either would like to admit.

  41. Regulatory capture by manu0601 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The problem is that FAA is not only an infrastructure operator, it is also a regulator. Hence what we see here is government-pushed Regulatory capture

    1. Re:Regulatory capture by slimjim8094 · · Score: 1

      Sorry, what's wrong with the regulator operating the infrastructure? The regulators *and* the infrastructure serve the public interest here. The FAA has plenty of faults, but they're not generally of the power-hungry variety.

      --
      I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
    2. Re:Regulatory capture by manu0601 · · Score: 1

      Sorry, what's wrong with the regulator operating the infrastructure?

      Nothing, I am perfectly fine with FAA being both regulator and operator. My point is that if it is to be replaced by a private interest owned corporation, then the regulatory function should be separated so that it does not fall into private interest hands.

      In other words, I fear that government is in fact invoking FAA operator function inefficiency to offer its regulatory function to private interests.

    3. Re:Regulatory capture by slimjim8094 · · Score: 1

      Ah got it - I misinterpreted your comment.

      The whole plan is pretty unfortunate, but if a non-profit became the regulator that would be extremely alarming. I haven't read the plan but AFAIK most of these proposals - and implementations in other countries - leave the government proper with the regulatory aspects and turn over only the ATC system itself to the private organization.

      The FAA does about the best job in the world at air traffic control. IAAPilot (private, of small planes for fun and personal travel) and I'm sympathetic to basically being a special interest group. However the US has the strongest general aviation (GA) sector of any country in the world, and part of that is due to the government treating everyone equally. The reason the big airlines like privatization is because it would let them effectively design routes and airspace that save them money, at the expense of smaller operators - anything from crop-dusters to news helicopters to medivac flights to guys like me.

      There's a safety aspect as well, though it's a bit technical. Countries with privatized ATC pay for it with "user fees" - which to be clear the US already has, and it's a fuel tax, but other countries send you a bill for any services you use. Services are things like talking to an airport control tower or regional area controller, instrument flight clearances or instrument approaches, etc. Our (GA's) interaction with the ATC system is a small fraction of their workload, but it pays disproportionate mutual benefits because airlines are pretty much all flying the same routes but we all have to get along.

      Let me explain: most GA flying doesn't require talking to anybody at all, even most flights near busy urban centers, but it's very beneficial to do so. There's a service called "flight following" where you don't need a flight plan but you show up no the controller's screen and they know how to reach you if they'd like you to turn, climb, or descend to avoid another airplane - especially a passenger jet on a fixed routing, which would otherwise have to be turned to avoid you. In exchange they help you find other airplanes, so you can keep away from them visually (as is your responsibility in visual conditions), and if you have an emergency they already know exactly where you are. It's super useful and dramatically improves safety and efficiency for everyone. But it's not remotely required, so if it costs money most pilots would simply ignore it - and now they have to turn jets out of the way of some guy bumbling around (as is his right) in a Cessna on a nice day.

      Furthermore the US is about the only country where non-career pilots can practically fly by reference to instruments (in the clouds). Having an instrument rating and an instrument-certified small airplane lets you fly in worse weather, but the biggest benefit is that it makes your flights in marginal weather much, much safer. Dangerous "scud-running" with low-to-the-ground clouds and low visibility might be possible, and legal to do visually, but it's far safer to do the flight on instruments instead. A buddy was doing some flying in Finland with an instructor, and the weather started to get worse, so he suggested simply getting an instrument clearance and doing an instrument approach to land - but it would have cost about 200 euros so the instructor wouldn't do it unless he paid.

      tl;dr ATC services should not be pay-per-usage as it degrades safety for everyone. Existing mechanisms like fuel taxes are sufficient to cover the cost and encourage all pilots to eagerly use the services, which keeps everyone safer.

      --
      I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
  42. Col. Wilberforst by Sir+Lurkalot · · Score: 1
  43. Re:Modernize! by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Pre-911, the airlines ran security for half the price, with much shorter delays, and with more courtesy and politeness. Penetration testing has shown that TSA is no better than their predecessors at catching perps.

  44. Such a misleading title by jediborg · · Score: 1

    "By turning over control to the big airlines" This is supposed to scare you and think "OMG, if the big airlines get control over the FAA then they will be able to beat up passengers legally!"

    Air Traffic Control is mostly about co-ordinating which planes are going where so as to ensure they don't crash into each other during flight. The private airline companies may not have much incentive to offer great customer service, but they have a BIG incentive to make sure that their planes don't crash. Because A) You loose a lot of money if your plane crashes, its not just the cost of the plane, its the fact that your airline probably took out a loan to pay for that plane and now they have a monthly payment to make but no plane to generate ticket revenue to pay for it B) That is a heck of a hit to your insurance rate for the insurer to pay out to all the citizens that lost loved ones C) Its a really big PR hit to your sales

    Let air traffic control be privatized like Trump wants. Its actually a pretty good idea whose origins go back to the Bill Clinton days. Just because the Air traffic control part would be privatized doesn't mean congress couldn't continues to pass laws ensuring fair business practices regarding prices or security.

    1. Re:Such a misleading title by humptheElephant · · Score: 1

      What could possibly go wrong?

    2. Re:Such a misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because the Air traffic control part would be privatized doesn't mean congress couldn't continues to pass laws ensuring fair business practices regarding prices or security.

      It isn't the "couldn't" that bothers me, it's the more likely "wouldn't" that seems to de facto go along with this administration and its party.

  45. Lowest Bidder by Blindman · · Score: 1

    There are times when it makes since to go with the lowest bidder, but it usually isn't government services. If the government wants something done correctly, without spelling out the most minor details or anticipating every possible short-cut, it should probably handle it on its own.

    --
    I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person that I'm preaching to.
  46. Typical lefty agitprop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    This reform is long overdue. Al Gore had a similar proposal some 20 years ago, and Canada privatized longer than that. The idiots who rattle on about the evils of big corporations are probably still sore that Carter deregulated the industry >30 years ago, and since then air traffic has exploded and just about everyone can afford to fly. No doubt all those poor people were forced to do so by evil corporations.

  47. Biased reporting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    (I like how you used a google redirect to hide that you were linking to The Daily Caller)

    That mid-2015 article cited as support for its boondoggle thesis a claim that ADS-B (what you really want instead of simple GPS) would not be operational before 2020 -- yet ADS-B went operational in late 2016.

    TDC was just peddling right wing BS as part of the lobbying to let private companies scrape more profits out of monies the taxpayers have invested.

    1. Re:Biased reporting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The ground segment was mostly operational as of the end of 2016, but the air side (airlines and GA) isn't there yet. The FAA is also in the process of developing mitigations to spoofing and jamming threats, so it's probably a good idea to let that wrap up before going all-in. 2020 is still the right date.

  48. We didn't vote for more of the same. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can we try new things?

  49. ahem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Obama is not a Republican

  50. yes, you do by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It was the Obama administration that ordered all the transgender bathroom stuff (because clearly the federal government was doing an excellent job on all the stuff it's supposed to do, so it needed more) to satisfy the gender-confused wing of their party. We all had to put up with months of yelling about bathrooms because normal people decided to push back on the insanity of your nutcases... so much for your side not lettig its crazies run things - you turned the country over to a self-admitted coke-head community organizer who spent 8 years appeasing his wierdo supporters - the guy spent years in court trying to make nuns pay for abortions.

    1. Re: yes, you do by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      IMO insanity is caring more about who poops in the stall next to you than human dignity.

    2. Re:yes, you do by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Oh yeah, because the question who shits where is the really big issue in the country. I'm so glad we have no bigger problems.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:yes, you do by Talderas · · Score: 1

      the question who shits where is the really big issue in the country.

      Maybe not the country but based on other comments in other articles on Slashdot it sounds like it's a really big issue in San Francisco.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
    4. Re: yes, you do by JackieBrown · · Score: 1

      Unless you see not wanting a man in the same bathroom as your 4 year old daughter a human dignity issue.

      I can't even be in the same bathroom as my daughter to keep her safe (assuming she uses the gender appropriate bathroom) but some guy stating he identifies as a girl can.

    5. Re:yes, you do by JackieBrown · · Score: 1

      If it wasn't a big issue, then why did Obama waste some much time on it?

      Or do you mean, since it's an issue that you already one, it's not a big issue? If we go back to requiring people to use the bathroom of their biological gender, would you consider it an issue worth spending time on "fixing" again?

    6. Re: yes, you do by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      If a trans woman goes into the ladies' room, she looks like a normal woman, does her business in a stall, and leaves. No big deal. If someone who looks like a man goes in, with the law the way you want it you can't challenge him, because he might be a trans man who's required by law to use the ladies' room. I'm not aware of significant abuse by trans women or men dressed as women.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  51. AND, that ngo is to be a non-profit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the headline was totally dishonest

    furthermore, the proposed ngo will be required to properly support smaller airports and private aviation. The FAA has been working to upgrade the air traffic control system for over 40 years, through Republican AND Democrat administrations, while congresses have thrown away many BILLIONS of dollars on the project with NOTHING to show for it; they're still using tube-based electronics in part of the system.

    Stick a fork in it. It's done... there's no evidence the F AA is ever going to be capable of reforming itself and performing. Even the unionized air traffic controllers areonboard the Trump plane on this one

    1. Re:AND, that ngo is to be a non-profit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh my god, air traffic control is such a disaster right now that we have:
      - One of the best safety records for airlines in the world.
      - The busiest airport in the world
      - 12 of the top 30th busiest airports in the world
      - 1/3 of the airports in the world
      - The best air system for general aviation/private pilots (ask pilots from other countries about this)
      - The most freedom for private pilots to actually fly, which leads to
      - The most potential airline pilots in training
      - The most freedom of any aviation system on the planet.
      - The least expensive ATC for pilots.

      There are no user fees now - this means that there is no penalty for filing a flight plan or using flight following in a small plane, charging fees for this will cause less pilots to use these services and decrease safety. ATC is paid for by a tax on aviation fuel, which, let's not kid ourselves, would not go away if they started charging user fees. The airlines would love it if small planes went away - and they will structure the fees to ensure this. Although some pilots are quite wealthy, most private pilots are not rich people. There's a large percentage flying 30-40-50 year old planes they bought for less than $30,000. Charging user fees will just push them out of aviation entirely. The ones that stay will drastically reduce their flying - and flying less frequently will reduce pilot skills. Currently, doing touch and goes at a towered airport costs me fuel. I try to do this at least once a week to maintain my abilities. When it's calm and I can use both runways, I can get 20 touch and goes in an hour for ~$30. If they add in $5 per landing, my practice would cost $130. It would go from once a week to once a month. That's not even taking a trip yet, just the normal practice I need to keep my skill level up.

      Calling the US ATC system now a "disaster" is completely, totally, and unequivocally idiotic. It is performing an incredibly difficult task extremely well with an impeccable safety record. The methods can be improved, but the results just won't improve much, they're already fantastic.

      "Nothing to show for it" is just plain false. They did not and can not, nor would it be a good idea in any way if they could, replace every single ATC system all at once. They have upgraded and modernized hundreds of control towers and systems. They are not done yet, so there are still old, antiquated systems out there which, again, still are performing the duties with an impeccable safety record, but there is a lot to show for it. Radar is part of that "1940's technology", which, you might note, still works and won't go away even with modernization. ADSB systems are expensive, and equipping the largest fleet of aircraft in the world, with the vast majority owned by private individuals, many with limited funds, takes a long time. An AOPA analysis of the FAA’s Aircraft Registry revealed that some 81,564, or 43%, of the 188,099 piston-powered, fixed-wing, certified general aviation airplanes on the FAA registry have an average retail value of $40,000 or less. The average value of all those aircraft was just over $25,000. The cheapest, most basic ADS-B system is $5-6,000. A 20% expense on the planes value is difficult to swallow. The FAA has given a deadline of 2020 for planes to equip for a reason, and it's not that the FAA is dragging it's feet, it is because it's a huge expense for a large portion of pilots, and you can't expect them to equip overnight.

  52. Have UK run USA health care system by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The problem for dems is that a govt run health care system already exists: the VA. Bernie Sanders even sits on the committee for oversight. And, the VA has big problems. Now, if Dems were pushing for the UK to run the USA health care system, it could get more support. Hell, they could pass NHS as a gov't owned HMO.

  53. maybe small airplanes should not fly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The cost of tracking an aircraft does not change much with size, so it will cost in the same ballpark to track a cessna 172 with 2 people, and a boeing 737 with 170 passengers. Economics seem to favor big airplanes over small airplanes in other areas. So, it might not be a big loss for a small airplane to not fly, or become very expensive to fly.

    1. Re: maybe small airplanes should not fly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And you should be forced to use only commercial transportation. You should not be allowed to use a private bicycle, a personally owned car or small truck; these should be made illegal on a cost/safety basis. You should only be allowed to use a commercial taxi, private bus or private train.

      To put it bluntly, you communist, you are full of shit.

  54. Airline-controlled Aviation Safety by hydrodog · · Score: 1

    1, Anyone who complains about an airline will get a beating, not just the few lucky ones that resist being thrown out of their paid seats. 2. Instead of wasting money investigating crashes, the money will be divided among the long-suffering airline CEOs on poker night.. 3. If your baggage is lost, airlines will give you a free double leg amputation, making it far more comfortable to fit in the new seats they are planning. 4. All TSA personnel hires will have microcephaly. As a result, terrorism is expected to decline, as so many people will die in air travel that no one will believe terrorists when they claim they had anything to do with it.

  55. operating a road and cars does not require big mgt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cars on roads do not require centralized management. Individuals driving each vehicle will suffice. Centralized management is needed for railroads and airplanes.

  56. Re:Modernize! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But now, you can get a free checkup. You can even get a free prostate exam if you say you're unsure if there's anything extra up in that area. This saves on medical costs and results in an overall healthier population. Plus it adds a lot of jobs too. TSA is a big win-win.

  57. *vomit* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    *vomit*

  58. Just like the self-regulating movie industry by Shompol · · Score: 1

    As exposed in This Film Is Not Yet Rated when an industry "regulates itself" with help of "major" players, they quickly adapt this vehicle to keep the lesser competitors out.

  59. Re: Modernize! by PoopJuggler · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I suspect it's more like nibbling a tiny Cheeto.

  60. Privitization by meglon · · Score: 1

    Always costs more because it adds a layer of cost that businesses call profit. It's such a simple thing to understand, i have to wonder what is wrong with people that don't get it.... i mean, are they really that fucking stupid?

    --
    Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
  61. Government tends to be horrible at everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    You made the claim "Government tends to be horrible at everything". Keep in mind that when states a premise as a fact, they are "Begging the question."

    Government is not horrible at everything. In fact it is quite good at a lot of things. Our mail is delivered every day, our police and fire departments respond every day, our military defends US interests every day, our taxes are collected every day, our currency is managed every day, and thousands of other less-visible governmental actions are performed well every day.

    Government is really bad at some things; but, often those things are the kinds of things that private enterprise is equally bad at, if not worse. Government eventually desegregated the private Universities, despite plenty of action to thwart it. In my opinion, Government didn't do a great job in that department, rather they blundered their way through it. However, they did get the job done. Likewise, the Nixon impeachment proceedings were another slow plodding blunder with an eventual success. The cost overruns of NASA were enormous, but the goal of landing a man on the moon was reached. At the time, no private entity would have been able to achieve these goals.

    I applaud your decision to consider things more deeply. I hope your consider how much you have already bought into the "evil Government" story line. This story line has managed to leverage the election of a person unqualified to be a politician (he's qualified to be a CEO of Trump Enterprises, but these are not equivalent positions).

    US history has had automotive manufacturers release cars they know would explode in minor collisions because it was cheaper to incur the expenses of about 2,400 wrongful deaths than to pay the $11 per car to put a weld patch over the gas tank. That is what a business will do, maximize profits selfishly. Perhaps there are a few businesses which won't, but that doesn't impede the ones that do.

    Only government can protect the rights of the people. Stop bashing it if you want your rights protected. Fix it if you think it is broken, but TRUST me on this, don't take anyone's word as fact that it is broken. Lying about broken government is often a cheap trick to get in office.

    To prove my point, our current President lied about the broken "Obama plays too much golf" when in reality he's played more golf in the first five months than Obama has played in eight years.
        That's your tax dollars at work people! His Secret Service has to guard the golf course. He has to buy out the whole course to do so. He is still getting paid while playing. I'd be pissed if someone earned my trust by pointing out a problem, and then used my votes to make the problem worse (even if it was something as non life-threatening as golf).

    There is an old Dutch saying "Truth in small things is not a small thing." It has may ways of being interpreted, but I'll go with, "If one will lie about a small thing, then lying is not a big deal for that person." Trump lies about how much time a President should spend golfing, if Obama played too much golf, then Trump is playing way too much golf (except that Trump is obviously fine with his frequency of playing golf). That's about as small as it gets. Don't expect any truth from this man.

    1. Re: Government tends to be horrible at everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is not about if government is good at something.
      It is about if a private company will be bettert. The rule is simple: if you have proper competition & market, in long rung private companies tend to be much better than state/government. However if you don't have competition, private is much worse than state where you have at least some control by some institutions if your democratic system work.

      In a case of air traffic you CAN NEVER have a competition - end of story, Privates without any control will eventually end up with a disaster (financial of plane crashes) and will need to be nationalized again.

      Functioning market with competition - private.
      Dysfunctional market, monopoly, impossibility to establish competition - state.

      It's relay that simple - as A. Smith would say.

    2. Re: Government tends to be horrible at everything by Thirty4 · · Score: 1

      The rule is simple: if you have proper competition & market, in long rung private companies tend to be much better than state/government. However if you don't have competition, private is much worse than state where you have at least some control by some institutions if your democratic system work.

      Maybe I'm simple too, but I agree with this. Thanks AC.

    3. Re: Government tends to be horrible at everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Our mail is delivered every day,

      Government does not deliver mail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service

  62. That's what trump is trying to fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pelvis has already sabotaged the FAA and ATC controllers are already understaffed, underpaid, and likely to die of a heart attack in their 50's. Notice that the ATC Union is vocally supporting this.

  63. OVER BOOKING!! by pablo_max · · Score: 1

    Seriously, are they literally retarded?
    The airline industry is run by a complete and total asshats.
      Non profit? Sure, the shell corporation ran by the industry it is designed to regulate may well be non profit. Of course, the rules that it makes or chooses to enforce will be designed to ensure maximum profit of those same companies.

    I can see it now.
    Step 1. Double or tipple book landing / take off slots since some times planes just don't show up.
    Step 2. If somehow, all the planes show up and everyone wants to land, American airlines will shoot down the other/s plane at random.
    Step 3. Profit?

  64. Re:Modernize! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    "Like". I think "like" is the crucial word here. As in making an analogy. And a nudge that perhaps one other area ought to change, namely security.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  65. "privatizing ...will help save money" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We should be wise to this by now: save money for who? And at the expense of what?

  66. Re:ATC are lazy know-nothings and should all be fi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can picture you, grinning, hovering mouse over the submit button. You think you're straight up hilarious, don't ya. Pretty sad.

  67. Privatization by Tenebrousedge · · Score: 1

    Services provided by governments are usually (but not always) monopolies

    You could say that government is the natural monopoly of natural monopolies. Services that are universal and especially services that are required to be universal (e.g. mail) head up this list, because letting someone profit from such a thing amounts to a private tax. Otherwise we start looking at whether there are market failures, like a high barrier to entry. Whether or not the government is good at what it does is actually a distinct issue.

    Part of me wants to see the red states get exactly the government that they want, but maybe that's too vindictive.

    So where's the teeth in that system?

    That would be the concept of democracy. I believe it's defined as 'the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.'

    --
    Those who advocate genocide deserve every protection afforded by law, and none afforded by common human decency.
  68. Exactly right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Airlines have been pushing for these user fees for decades.... precisely because they dont want to have to share the airways with us little guys.

  69. Re:Modernize! by danbert8 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Umm, door locks were the fix that prevented any other 9/11s from occurring. The security theater hasn't done a thing.

    --
    Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
  70. Re:Let the indutries set up councils to self-gover by halivar · · Score: 1

    Everything is an indicator of fascism, if you pick your indicators right. Also, fascists breathed. Beware.

  71. Re:Modernize! by Jason+Levine · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That and the hijackers exploited a "rule" about hijacking that was true until 9-11. Up until then, if your flight was hijacked, you sat still and did nothing. The plane was re-routed to somewhere like Cuba, the hijacker put on a big show to get attention to whatever it was he wanted attention on, and then everyone was released. So long as you kept quiet, you were inconvenienced but otherwise unharmed.

    The people on the first two planes that were hijacked on 9-11 kept quiet assuming that this was the rule. The third plane got wind of what was going on and fought back. Sure, they didn't survive, but they went down fighting and ensuring that the hijackers didn't reach target #3.

    Any future hijacker won't be able to rely on people abiding by pre-911 hijacking rules. Even if the hijacker is the "fly to Cuba" type, people will assume this is another 9-11 and will fight back. We've seen it in the "shoe bomber" and other hijack attempts. Passengers and crew fight back and subdue the hijacker. This exploit that the 9-11 hijackers used is closed for good.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  72. Re:Let the indutries set up councils to self-gover by davecb · · Score: 1

    Yup: I actually found it amusing that the (Italian) fascists wanted a corporate government and little freedom, while the corporations want to run a government that guarantees them a free market. The German Fascists, on the other hand, ran a traditional government with representatuion from regions, not lines of business.

    --
    davecb@spamcop.net
  73. Re:Modernize! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yup, unofficial policy change.

    Funny how quickly people adapt to sudden danger, but how slowly they adapt to the more global and less immediate ones.

  74. The Great Giveaway Has Begun by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

    So now Trump has started to sell, or at least he wants to, assets of the government. Doesn't this sound like a certain friend of his that sold the assets of another country to their rich elite in exchange for their loyalty? Of course the US doesn't have oil companies to sell but there are lots of other things that Trump can sell to the wealthy people of America. It won't help him stay President longer than 4 or 8 years but afterwards he could find himself on the boards of many companies owned by his new friends and earning generous compensation packages.

    It's all about what Trump can grab and the US government is the worlds largest piggy bank. He's been breaking the law by using his position to influence people to use his businesses since he was elected. I wonder what else he's been doing to enhance his fortune.

    1. Re:The Great Giveaway Has Begun by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately he's believing his personal pilot for his 757 jet. A guy that is an airline pilot and believes what they say. The airliners want to offload a lot of expense for a system that was designed for airliners onto general aviation airplanes.

  75. TSA is Less Likely To Catch Terrorists by HannethCom · · Score: 1

    It is worse than them being no more likely to catch terrorists. Penetration testing has found that TSA agents are 1/5th as effective at finding dangers than the old security screening.

    --
    Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon what's the difference? All steal money from devs and control with walled gardens.
  76. Oh this will go well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Southwest flight 328, holding short runway 27L, requesting takeoff clearance.

    "Uh, yeah, SW328, we're gonna need you to taxi to the apron and hold there while we get the 5 BigCorp planes behind you out of the way."

  77. Re:Modernize! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unless the terrorist and the pilot are the same person, as has happened in some high profile cases, suspected in others.

  78. Re:Modernize! by lsatenstein · · Score: 1

    You mean like go back to the TWENTIETH CENTURY MODEL where airports or airlines ran the security lines?

    We are *NOT* talking about the TSA, we are talking about the FAA. Different.

    In *principle* this could work, but more likly, Trump will hand it off to some corporation that sends a lobbiest with a large bag of cash to suck his cock.

    I suppose the next thing that Trump will privatize is the ARMY

    --
    Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
  79. Re:Modernize! by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    We are *NOT* talking about the TSA, we are talking about the FAA. Different.

    Unfortunate. I'd like airport security to be privatized like it used to be, with no new outrageous requirements any time someone does something stupid.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  80. you are suffering from stockholm syndrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1. You may have flown within the current system, but I have developed avionics systems within that system. The FAA is the REASON those electronic systems are so expensive that many private pilots cannot afford them. The FAA is also the reason that profit margins are so low that no American companies are making the equivalent of a Piper Cub or a Cessna 150 these days (i.e. a reasonably-priced small plane aimed at middle class people). Yeah, I know, there are a bunch od small plane makers making composite jobs aimed at the above-middle-class, but I'm talking about mass-produced planes a middle classperson can buy and fly his/her fmaily around in. The FAA is the REASON most small planes lack AOA instruments and other such things, the REASON many newer and safer instruments, powerplants, etc never make it to market. Do you have any clue about how long the FAA has been working the "precision approach" stuff? Do you understand that they are the REASON there are no flying cars in mass production? Thought experiment for you: Imagine you plan to start a business to make and sell five hundred flying cars, small planes, or fancy new life-saving bit of avionics. Now imagine the FAA regulations and fees will make getting approved take a decade and 10 million dollars... do you proceed? An old industry joke goes "Question: How do you make a small fortune in aviation? Answer: you start with a large fortune..."

    2. Your claim that "there are no user fees now" is completely bogus. The FAA is getting funds that are taken from you indirectly through all sorts of taxes and fees. You buy avgas don't you? Do you pay other taxes? The fact that the costs of the FAA are hidden from you and you choose not to look for them doesnot mean they are not there.

    3. You falsely attribute the current safety stats with the FAA. The FAA is not the responsible party here. The entity that IS responsible is a different and little-hearalded federal entity that works with great diligence, total openness, rigorous honesty, on a limited budget and without wasting everybody's time and money doing PR for itself: the NTSB. The NTSB is the agency that dispassionately investigates every accident and explicitly lays out for the world to see every detaill of what went wrong and how it could have been avoided and what everybody should do differently going forward. NOBODY is calling for messing with the NTSB.

    4. You seem to have fallen for Senator Charlie Schumer's insane rant that as a non-government entity the new outfir would be driven by a profit motive (even though it is explicitly a NON-PROFIT) and would thus cut corners and kill people to save money. Let's see now... if that's the free market model of business, then how has McDonalds screwed up so badly?!? By that whacko "thinking" McDonalds ought to be slaughtering customers right and left as they cut corners and kill for profits. Same for Home Depot and Sears. Nothing says "repeat customers" like piles of corpses!

    The aircraft makers, maintainers, operators, and insurance companies, informed by the NTSB, are the reason for the safety. It turns out that killing customers is BAD FOR BUSINESS. It turns out that insurers do not like insuring bad systems and operators. It seems that all these entities, operating purely out of self-interest and informed by those NTSB reports, will work diligently to operate as safely and efficiently as they can in order to preserve their own lives and livelihoods - and that the customers end up benefitting from that. Imagine that...people all working for their own best interests end-up cooperatievly doing something well that benefits all (the way many things in the US worked before being captured by Washington DC politicians and bureaucrats). A French guy named Alexis de Tocqueville once visited America and wrote a rather famous book about this phenomenon...

    Free your mind! You have become comfortable with a federal controll of air traffic, and the idea of freedom and of an entity run not-fo

    1. Re:you are suffering from stockholm syndrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1. Angle of Attack indicators can be installed on planes without an STC, and have been allowed for years now. You mean like the experimental market AHARS the FAA recently issued STCs for multiple planes? You know, like the Garmin G5 which is STCed for 29 makes and 562 models of plane? You should know about these if you really are an avionics developer (which I actually am, BTW, for the experimental market). The STC process does not take 10 years, nor does it take $10 million.

      The reason flying cars in cities don't work is that they're a horrible idea from a practical standpoint. There is not a single practical way to integrate them into the air, or more importantly, roads in densely populated areas. And for rural areas, the Maverick is on sale now, and there's currently three other companies with publicized flying prototypes. How many designs have been stopped by the FAA, and how many designs have been stopped because they don't work? I'm guessing it's about a 1:100 ratio.

      But neither of these or any of your other arguments matter because the subject is Air Traffic Control, not the FAA certification process for manufacturers.

      2. You have no idea what you're talking about. There are not user fees now. Gasoline taxes are not user fees. They are nothing like user fees because a small plane with a small engine doesn't use much gas and doesn't pay much tax. And most piston engines can be STCed to use car gas, which will pay no tax. So, yes, it can be free.

      User fees are a different animal. Charging for takeoffs and landings or talking to ATC on the radio will make flying much, much, much more expensive for a small plane pilot, and will prevent many from getting flight following or filing flight plans.And when the airlines get the plurality of votes in determining what the fees are, the outcome is predictable.

      3. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The NTSB only responds after an aircraft has crashed, and they only make recommendations, they have no regulatory power. The FAA makes the rules, and they frequently go against the NTSB's recommendations, which is necessary to fly at all in some cases. The FAA has to balance actually being able to fly vs. the NTSB recommendations, since the NTSB frequently goes too far.

      4. A "non-profit" corporation, who's job it is to regulate an industry with for-profit corporations, that has guaranteed seats on the board held by choices of the for-profit companies. It's not even close to a neutral third party here. They will make whatever decisions they can to maximize profits for the airlines. And they will try to squeeze out general aviation.
      According to your list, you believe that the Air Traffic Control system, which is run by the FAA, has absolutely nothing to do with aircraft safety? This is beyond idiotic.

      Try reading something more modern than 1850's economics, and you'll see exactly what will happen.

      Free my mind, indeed. The fantasy you envision is so far from reality that the light leaving reality will take several hundred years to reach you. Google Jim Jones. And if you can understand that maybe the bullshit you've been fed does taste bad, actually research what Canada did and what this proposal does, they're not the same at all.

  81. Well.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Donald Trump got elected, I think I recently saw a pig fly, and I'm pretty sure hell has frozen over... so stranger things have happened (smile)

    Yesterday I even saw a legislator talking with the Trump people about the VA. It seems the VA has, over the decades, designed and implemented its own patient records system (countless tax dollars spent on a delayed and buggy system) and some Trump admin person asked something like "hey, don't all your patients come from the pentagon and don't they already have a system with all those records already in it? whay are you not just using a copy of their stuff and transferring the records directly over when the service member leaves the service?" Apparently there was no good answer and things are about to change...

    Probably good news for taxpayers and servicemembers. Probably bad news for the usual suspects of politically-connected firms with lobbyists and canons loaded with bribes, er, "campaign cash" whose names we know and who seem to mostly sell over-priced buggy crap to government.

    Yes, I suspect I'll soon see a talking elephant.

    We live in interesting times where an unthinkable man has landed in the White House and now all sorts of previously unthinkable questions are being asked in a swamp called Washinton DC where the residents have been quite comfortable in the muck for many decades. Will there be missteps? Sure, but there may well be some great improvements, and this air traffic control matter may just well be a great one.

  82. ahem...you mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the private company's Do-178?

    Yuppers, boys n girls, the safety standards of the FAA are actually from the private company RTCA. The FAA just picked the standards they wanted followed and in a crony-capitalist way, ordered everybody to conform to the specs of that private company which makes money selling the specs and training/advising on compliance issues etc.

    Funny thing: people terrified of a private non-profit company running air traffic control have no problem with the FAA ordering everybody to comply with a private FOR PROFIT company with which it has an interesting relationship. Were the FAA standards actually government standards, they would be publicly available for free online or on paper for the cost of printing. We currently have the worst of all worlds at the FAA: a lesser-form of actual fascism - no, not goosestepping troops (one way fascism is often IMPLEMENTED and ENFORCED) but the actual form where government has special relationships with supposedly private companies and those "partners" order the public around. where the details of this "public-private" partnership are a bit obscured, while the government assures the public that this is optimal and one should not bother asking questions. The RTCA seems private, but is it? who's in charge of whom? Does somebody at the FAA quietly tell the RTCA what to put into the specs and then when asked does the FAA pretend it was not the author? are there revolving doors for employees between these entities? How much congressional oversight is avoided by the illusion(?) that RTCA is private and separate from the FAA? Average citizens may never know.

    1. Re:ahem...you mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Average citizens may never know.

      I mean, it's not like any RTCA meetings to approve requirements changes are required by law to be open to the public and have their dates and locations published in the Federal Register a month in advance. Oh, wait, THEY ALL ARE. If you want to see how it really works, go to a meeting. Or at least dial into one. I'll give you a hint though, the FAA's role is typically just to be the adult in the room. There's no grand conspiracy, it's just an industry consortium working to come up with mutually agreeable solutions.

  83. If they're not people, they can't speak by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If they're not people, they have no rights. If they are not people, they cannot own things or produce things.

    And if they can't want anything, how can they ask for anything?

    Do the corporations have people? Yes. Do those people want things? Yes. Do they want things for the corporation? Yes. Therefore the corporation wants them.

    You, however, are a retard.

  84. Re:Modernize! by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

    The right to free travel doesn't jive well with illegal searches.

    As illegal as you consider searches to be, it doesn't by one iota infringe on your right of free travel. It doesn't stop you from getting on your stereotypical horse and riding across the horizon to wherever you want to go.

    If you want the convenience of fast travel, then you also get the inconvenience of being searched. [SHRUG] I'm searching for the worlds tiniest violin, and a Spinal Tap amplifier turned to "-1", so I can properly appreciate the sad music.

    --
    Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  85. What a horrible idea by TomGreenhaw · · Score: 1

    The airline industry has a ridiculously bad track record for deploying reliable software. The next thing we will wringing our hands over will be runway neutrality where monopolistic airlines will cause their competitors to circle the airport until they run out of fuel.

    --
    Greed is the root of all evil.