Umm...I Guess I'll Drive

Flying sucks. Plain and simple, there is nothing fun about getting on an airplane and going anywhere. I can't speak for anyone else, but the thought of getting to an airport 2 hours early so I can wait in line to take half my clothes off, get scowled at like a convicted felon only to wait another hour for my flight in a tiny airplane not meant for someone with a 6'2" frame is not my idea of a good time. So why? Why is flying, the most efficient form of travel, such an inconvenient pain in the ass?

The answer, simply put, is that the major airlines in the United States have an oligopoly over air travel. There is no open market for air travel in America like there is in Europe. After flying all around Europe last summer, their system is not only less of a hassle, but a lot cheaper too. Airfares in this country have done nothing but rise since the $15 billion federal bailout of the airline companies in 2001. And why were they bailed out? Oh yea, that's right, because their own employees thought nothing suspicious of a bunch of Saudis with one way tickets to the afterlife. The airlines, along with the CIA, FBI and the Bush administration have as much blame for the September 11th attacks as anyone else. So how are the airlines punished after the largest attack on American soil ever? Free money!

"Hey airlines, we know you fucked up. Your mistakes led to the deaths of thousands of innocent Americans. Here's $5 billion".

"Why thanks. We know we fucked up too. So what we're going to do is pocket your money, fire our employees, raise airfares and make air travel a royal pain in the ass."

American neo-cons love to use the term "free market". Yet, we give government handouts to big business. If we really believed in free markets in this country, Bear Stearns, the airlines and countless others would be allowed to crash and burn to the ground like they deserve. If I invest my money and lose it all, does Uncle Same give me a million dollars for my trouble? Fuck no. This country has embraced corporatism and moved away from democracy. I wouldn't say we're getting closer to Mussolini's Italy because in Mussolini's Italy, the trains ran on time.