I read an article in Time Magazine regarding flight delays etc. and it mentioned abolishing the bureaucratic FAA and privatizing air traffic control. What are your opinions?

We need a protective agency like the FAA, but government seems totally inept to meet the demands of the air traffic problem. It makes you wonder how we ever won a war!! If Viet Nam is any yardstick of measurement, we didn't!!
I fear a private agency because it is susceptible to the demands of a commercial market place. But so far the FAA is coming up short in protecting consumer interests. I shudder, however, to think what mess we would be in if it did not exist at all. Would we be as bad as Russia? Chilling speculation.

Yes, Yes, Yes! Let's privatize the FAA. We all know that corporations have every incentive to look out for the best interests of the little guy. They would NEVER do something like value profits over public safety.

While we're at it, there are some other federal agencies that have just got to go. NHTSA, the Traffic Safety administration is an example. Boy, what a waste of money that is! Remember the good old days when cars burst into flames, they had no structural integrity, when broken glass could disfigure you for life, and when even seat belts were optional? Hopefully George Bush and his cronies will unleash these big corporations so they can finally begin doing some good for a change.

Can we please keep this to a civil debate and not bring politics into it?

Sorry, Max. I got carried away. But note that no one was floating this trial balloon during the Clinton years. Hmmmm.

You're suggesting we discuss closing a branch of the federal government and giving it over to private business and yet you don't want politics to creep into the discussion? Are you listening to yourselves? This is a purely political question!

I used to work for the air traffic controllers union (no jokes or comments - I've heard them all). The idea of privatizing the air traffic control system has been around for years and is brought up every new Congress. So, Great Idea, yes, it was floated during the Clinton years. It may also interest you to know that many air traffic control towers have been contracted out to private companies (Key West, St. Thomas, Martha's Vineyard, to name a few).

Fair enough, Ilisa. But the airports you mention are tiny. Should we privatize air safety at LAX? Maybe the idea was floated under Clinton, but it takes a conservative to think that corporations will look out for public safety better than the government.

Let's face it. Government regulation is far from perfect, and it is very wasteful. But our collective experience with things like environmental pollution and cleanup and auto safety shows that when the profit motive conflicts with public safety, a lot of people can get hurt.

One, I did not say contracting out or privitization was acceptable. I am just pointing out that it is not a new concept. I am firmly against such proposals in the interests of safety. Second, while the facilities mentioned are "tiny", they are heavily touristed areas with a large amount of air traffic (I no longer recall the numbers since it has been a while since I worked in that field).

The answer need not be so black and white.

Hybrid organizational forms such as a public and private cooperative may be the answer.

Undoubtedly, there NEEDS to be incentives for innovation so that air traffic can increase in step with the incredible increase in air traffic demanded by the public without risking safety.

The technology is available, but the incentive to change is not. Thus, adding a private business element to the system may provide the all important incentive to change.

I do not have the definitive answer, but I do know that we need to move in the direction of privitization.

-Tony