Re: $15 Billion for Industry and Not a Cent for Workers

Brandon,

>    I read the article, and I have just a few points to  make:   First
>off, much of the loss experienced by the  airline industry was caused by
>the forced grounding of the planes for several  days, causing prodigious
>losses. Whether Congress authorizes money for workers  or not, money is
>still due the airlines for the loss of revenue. I believe that  there is a
>provision in the Constitution that states that neither Congress nor  the
>States may interfere with the fulfillment of legal contractual
>obligations.  An airline ticket is just that, a contract. A great deal of
>revenue was lost  through that government action. So some compensation is
>due.

The Constitution itself, as amended, does not make any explicit reference
to contracts in that context.  I'll defer to the lawyers, but I don't
believe the government can be held responsible for these sorts of losses.
I don't have an airline ticket in front of me, but I'll bet there's some
legalese in there that says that the contract is null and void at certain
times.

Has the airline industry been damaged?  Indubitably.  Should billions of
dollars be spent to help it recover to some degree?  Debatable, but I tend
think the answer is yes.  I never said otherwise.  The long-term question,
and the one which I hope congress will address, is what is to happen to our
air transport industry?  Private, for-profit airlines are in part
responsible for the mess we're in today.  The government needs to address
this.

>Secondly, just giving money to the workers won't do  a thing for the
>economy. It won't help in the transport of goods. It won't help  an
>industry that is so central to the healthy functioning of our economy. The
>way to get these people back to work is to get them their old jobs back,
>meaning  the employers, the airlines, need to be lifted out of default
>status so that  they can employ them.

I agree that just giving money to the workers won't do a thing for the
economy or help in the transport of goods.  I did not suggest that it
would.  What it would do is help ease the workers' transition to new lines
of work as the industry is reshaped by the September 11 tragedy.

A very important part of my article which you don't address is the
suggestion that there will be massive changes in the nature of our
transportation system.  These are long-term issues; giving the airlines a
handout is not visionary, it does not address the underlying flaws in the
system.  It only keeps a flawed system alive a little longer.

Thanks for writing.

Niel