GOP Plays Politics With Air Travel

Once again the Republicans show that they care more about their failed ideology than the smooth functioning of our system -- this time the transportation system. By insisting on anti-union measures being included in the FAA re-athorization bill, they have prevented such a bill from being passed. Now the FAA has no funds with which to operate and will have to furlough thousands of workers. It will also probably cost thousands of construction workers their jobs as airport building funds are also not available.

The FAA is trying to assure the traveling public that flying will still be safe because the air traffic controllers will remain on the job. But one has to wonder how long this GOP-initiated impasse will last before it does start to impact air travel. Will safety at the airports become lax with nobody but air traffic controllers from the government working? What about safety inspectors? What about the people who must re-certify pilots?

This is a bad place for the GOP to try and push its anti-unionism (they want to make it harder for FAA workers to join unions). Making matters even worse, the collection of airline taxes won't be able to be done either. That amounts to about $200 million in lost revenue each week (or about $10 billion a year). That makes no sense for a party that has been whining about the federal budget being too large.

This is just one more instance of the GOP caring more about pleasing themselves than protecting and enhancing the lives of ordinary Americans. They don't care if people have to go without their paychecks, they don't care about millions being without jobs, they don't care about affecting the checks and benefits of millions of the elderly, they don't care about the poor and underprivileged who depend on the programs they cut. All they really care about is pleasing their corporate masters and getting re-elected.