Big Brother is at it Again

So, instead of airlines (yes those same companies we bailed out in the 80's and 90's) doing the right thing and reducing or better yet getting rid of baggage fees and instead just charging more per ticket up front, Congress is sticking their nose where it doesn't belong again.

Airlines, and other companies are supposedly allowed, in this supposedly Capitalistic country, to charge what they want how they want. If airlines want to continue to screw over the public, and keep crying poverty, they have that right. They DO NOT have the right for government handouts however. 30 years ago the airline industry was deregulated. That means the government was not going to tell them how to run their business. Theoretically it also means no government handouts when you are going under.

Is the airline industry, as it stands, or wobbles now, indispensable? I say it isn't. I say some company will come along and fill whatever holes the industry leaves behind as they collapse under their own weight. Now comes the kicker and this can be a blog in and of itself, the major problem is the retirement system that the legacy airlines have to deal with because the "American" unions demanded it. Unions by definition are communist- everyone gets and equal share.

Southwest Airlines has a series of commercials that deal with baggage fees. If the public hates the fees enough, they will fly Southwest, or any other company that doesn't charge them. Personally, I think it should be incorporated into the price of the ticket. You will yell and scream thats not fair, if I don't have any bags I shouldn't have to pay. GUESS WHAT! If you are middle class you are going to pay. The rich don't care, the poor can't afford the ticket. Guess what. The middle class has always paid since the Ancient Greeks invented the class. It is not going to change. The sooner people realize that, the sooner they can do something about their situation. Either get fired and go on unemployment benefits where you can actually wind up making MORE money than your current job is paying you, or try climbing up the ladder and get rich. Good luck.

Now the REALLY funny thing is according to the article, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/22/senate-bill-aims-to-block-airline-baggage-fees/?cmpid=cmty_email_Gigya_Senate_Bill_Aims_to_Block_Airline_Baggage_Fees , my friend Rabbi Ari Schochet, sent to me the Senate's excuse for considering this bill is... are you ready?... Homeland Security. There are apparently a plethora of carry on bags because no one wants to pay the fee for checked baggage, which means the TSA has to scan all those bags. Sigh I think I just heard Ben Franklin sobbing.