Another Merger, Another Bankruptcy whens it gonna end!

[SIG600]

I think what's being missed are the underlying politics-
Both R's and Ds want a vibrant economy- cheap airline tickets stimulate business on a macro scale. We have to know what we're up against and do our best to vote our interests. Something we don't do well as pilots.
Any thought that we aren't still regulated is a bit ridiculous to me. This industry is taxed and regulated arguably more than any other.

Want a vibrant economy, remove all the gov't involvement and let the free market be free. Gov't has proven time and time again they can't succesfully run anything other than their own personal interest.

 

[waveflyer]

Ignorant post of the fledgling year

Want a vibrant economy, remove all the gov't involvement and let the free market be free. Gov't has proven time and time again they can't succesfully run anything other than their own personal interest.

 

[Lear70]

I think what's being missed are the underlying politics-
Both R's and Ds want a vibrant economy- cheap airline tickets stimulate business on a macro scale. We have to know what we're up against and do our best to vote our interests. Something we don't do well as pilots.
Any thought that we aren't still regulated is a bit ridiculous to me. This industry is taxed and regulated arguably more than any other.

True statements, all.

I just look at this as Pandora's Box that has been opened and can't be re-shut. Do I still wish the airline industry had never been deregulated? You bet. Can we go back? Of course not.

Is the situation fixing itself? In *SOME* ways, slowly, and I hope to see more of it in the future through consolidation, which will hopefully do SOME work to fix the low ticket price problem.

We shall see...

And Sig, yeah, hate to say it, but the government NEVER gets their fingers OUT of something they put their fingers INTO in the first place. Just the way we are, as a country.

 

[SIG600]

Ignorant post of the fledgling year

Tell me something gov't has done right. What regulation has done any good in the last 10-15 years?

And Lear that's because people keep voting for the status quo. If even half of Americans actually read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they would be pissed to realize what Washington has done and gotten away with.

 

[Smarta$$]

That's exactly right... What a mess the government made of this once-great career. :/

In the name of the free-market.

 

[Smarta$$]

To Lear's point, I'd say most domestic airfares have stayed flat for how many years now?

The public doesn't really know what inflation is when talking about airline tickets. They still expect to pay 250-300 for transcon, and not a penny more.

Most of their incomes have been held to "not a penny more".

 

[The Prussian]

Ignorant post of the fledgling year

....and remember that you were the one that posted it!... :cartman:

 

[Lear70]

Sig, there's no arguing that we have "jumped the shark" constitutionally-speaking a long time ago, and that's yet another Pandora's Box.

Every nation evolves past their founding principles; it's all cyclical. The issue is not letting entitlement get so far out of hand that we bankrupt the country, the majority are reduced to poverty (Italy, etc), and eventually you end up with a pure socialist society (Russia), that eventually collapses. It happened to Rome, it will happen to us, I'd just appreciate it not happening for a few more centuries, rather than it being the fault of our generation more than others before or after.

/soap box

As it stands, almost all of this is WAY beyond our pay grade. I know what I would LIKE to see happen, know that it almost certainly won't, and will simply do my part to make my company profitable and expect to be fairly compensated for it according to what the market, economy, and financial stability of the company will allow.

Or does anyone else have any better ideas? :beer:

 

[waveflyer]

Tell me something gov't has done right. What regulation has done any good in the last 10-15 years?

And Lear that's because people keep voting for the status quo. If even half of Americans actually read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they would be pissed to realize what Washington has done and gotten away with.

All I'm saying is that such enormous blanket statements, basically equating to anarchy, aren't actually helpful.
"all" regulation is bad??
Really?
And then you want to lecture others about the Constitution?
We don't have time or money for such silliness - there are real problems to address

 

[SIG600]

All I'm saying is that such enormous blanket statements, basically equating to anarchy, aren't actually helpful.
"all" regulation is bad??
Really?
And then you want to lecture others about the Constitution?
We don't have time or money for such silliness - there are real problems to address

A free market is regulated by design... it's not anarchy. How do you think this country exploded onto the global scene so fast? Unfortunately when you let gov't intervene or set standards you get bubbles like what happened in 2007-8. The stage was set for that one as far back as the 80's with legislation that was passed.

Couple that with items like the 17th amendment and you get to where we're at now.

Lear the founding fathers had it right. We never "evolved" past our founding principles, people threw them out the window. Unfortunately people can't see past their own free lunch to under stand that it's going to be a painful row to hoe to get back there. Complete collapse which is a certainty will be even more painful. The vast majority seem to be incappable to take control of their own lives, personal responsibility and all that. It's not above anyone's paygrade. Our gov't used to be BY the people FOR the people. We've allowed the system to become corrupt and it's only by the inaction of the people that we'll continue to go down hill. The gov't should be afraid of the people, not the other way around.

Anyone that was paying attention to hurricane Katrina should have taken note that when you rely on the gov't to take care of you, you'll be let down every single time. Yet we soldier on with the status quo allowing our elected gov't be bought, on both sides of the aisle. Our country is damn near 180 degrees out from where we started... and where we started was revolutionary in human history. It wasn't perfect, but it was damn close.

 

[waveflyer]

No sig- that's revisionist history. The bubble began predictably with the repeal of glass-steagal. If it were caused by the fair housing act, it would've happened in the 80's.
But don't let facts get in the way of your ideology.
Truly free markets don't lead to fair competition, they lead to unfair competition.
Now I do believe over-regulation and inappropriate regulation can stifle economies- and if you'd like to discuss that, it's a conversation we can have. The blanket BS is just kids mentality.

 

[Jon Rivoli]

No sig- that's revisionist history. The bubble began predictably with the repeal of glass-steagal. If it were caused by the fair housing act, it would've happened in the 80's.
But don't let facts get in the way of your ideology.
Truly free markets don't lead to fair competition, they lead to unfair competition.
Now I do believe over-regulation and inappropriate regulation can stifle economies- and if you'd like to discuss that, it's a conversation we can have. The blanket BS is just kids mentality.

Glass-steagal had absolutely nothing to do with it. There was a housing bubble and bust in the 1980's. The Fed's low interest rate policy coupled with the complete destruction of mortgage lending standards (led by Fanny and Freddy and often required by the DOJ) are what blew up the economy.

Free markets will always be more fair than regulated markets. The best way to enjoy an unfair advantage or monopolistic power is through government regulation.

You are going to get an aneurysm trying to twist the facts to fit your ideology like that. Please, favoring free market principles doesn't mean you default to no regulation, a favorite straw man of the left.

 

[SIG600]

Glass-steagal had absolutely nothing to do with it. There was a housing bubble and bust in the 1980's. The Fed's low interest rate policy coupled with the complete destruction of mortgage lending standards (led by Fanny and Freddy and often required by the DOJ) are what blew up the economy.

Free markets will always be more fair than regulated markets. The best way to enjoy an unfair advantage or monopolistic power is through government regulation.

You are going to get an aneurysm trying to twist the facts to fit your ideology like that. Please, favoring free market principles doesn't mean you default to no regulation, a favorite straw man of the left.

Shack. You're also a racist if you don't agree with the left. People don't like it when facts get in the way.

Speaking of which:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/01/now_we_know_who_was_right_about_obama.html

 

[waveflyer]

I completely disagree Jon-

And sig- hoes it "shack" when no facts are cited or sourced

 

[jonjuan]

Want a vibrant economy, remove all the gov't involvement and let the free market be free. Gov't has proven time and time again they can't succesfully run anything other than their own personal interest.

Although southwest wouldn't be around today had government involvement been removed.