Sunday, November 20, 2005

the new welfare mom

I just wanna know where is the lobbying group or part of congress that wants to bail me out of some of my debt? The nation's third-biggest airline, Delta, is singing the blues indicating the obvious, that it has been hurt by increase in jet fuel prices and competition from lower-cost, low-fare carriers. Most of this outside of the cost, was due to what I perceive as a poor business model. Not only did Delta wait longer than some of the other airlines to trim costs, the airlines is about $28 billion in debt, and can’t cover the full-balance of its pension program.

For Deltas blessing, they know that they will be bailed out by tax payer and private welfare. It started four years after Congress bailed out the aviation industry, and it appears as if similar action by lawmakers are about to take place. I don’t know why the airlines industry is so important in comparison to the steel or television manufacturing industries - both of which are non existent.

Airline welfare comes from several places. First, there is the trade group, the Air Transport Association (ATA). This is the group of folk who go up on Capital Hill and ask for specialized welfare just for the airlines industry. They probably the real inspiration behind Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), to get version of his airline-specific pension bill passed. Then there is the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., who will have to find some way with its money obtained from corporations to help relive some of the pension burden; in this case for the airline that started off in 1928 as a Macon, Georgia crop dusting service.

Although I can’t say what will happen for the 60,000 employees or the approximately 300,000 people they fly daily, big high-fare high-cost airlines will always be inefficient. None the less, Delta the corporation will stand, accepting welfare that they likely condemn poor people for receiving, while the pensions of workers and the jobs of employees are taken away. They seem to need the lobbying group.

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