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President Trump pushes for privatizing US air traffic control

Winston

the enemy within
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President Trump pushes for privatizing US air traffic control | abc7.com


"Billions and billions of tax dollars spent, and many years of delays, we're still stuck with a broken, antiquated, horrible system that doesn't work. Other than that it's quite good." - Donald Trump.

The Trump quote is just hilarious. Anything that's not on Trump's side, is horrible and failing, and it's hilarious to watch Trump contradict himself inside of a sentence. "Air Traffic Control is horrible and a failure! Other than that it's great!" It shows you that Trump never means anything he says.

As for my personal feelings, as with anything else Republicans propose, this is about transferring public wealth into private hands and bleeding the middle class for private industry. He has no evidence to back up his claims that this move will act as a cost control, and it allows the big airlines to impose fees on passengers, that could end up costing passengers much more than the current system. And the current system works great! However, I have a sinking feeling Trumpers far and wide, will suddenly become passionate experts on ATC and tell me why I'm wrong momentarily.
 
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so, unlike during reagan's era, striking unionized ATCs would not be subject to losing their jobs
what could possibly happen
 
justabubba said:
so, unlike during reagan's era, striking unionized ATCs would not be subject to losing their jobs
what could possibly happen
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Unlike privatizing prisons, I don't really have a problem with privatizing ATC. Plenty of more progressive countries do it. But you do make a fair point about striking. But private prisons seem like another institution that striking would be detrimental. How have we dealt with that in the past?
 

Then why don't you tell all the potential passionate experts how you would fix it before you go making jabs?
 
RetiredUSN said:
Then why don't you tell all the potential passionate experts how you would fix it before you go making jabs?
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Nothing's wrong with it. Leave as is.
 
Winston said:
Nothing's wrong with it. Leave as is.
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How do you know that nothing is wrong with it?

There actually is some what of a crisis going on with ATC workers, management, and a incompetent FAA.

Is privatization the answer..... I dunno.
 
RetiredUSN said:
How do you know that nothing is wrong with it?

There actually is some what of a crisis going on with ATC workers, management, and a incompetent FAA.

Is privatization the answer..... I dunno.
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Our system is among the safest in the whole world. From what I read this morning, the main gripe is that they want to switch over to satellite imaging, rather than relying on the old radar technology. And there's arguments on who should pay for that.

If you turn over ATC to private industry, companies will be incentivized to cut costs. In an industry where the objective is safety and preserving human life, the profit motive can be an uncaring intruder. Also smaller airports could be hit hardest because they would not be seen as "not economically viable" for a private company to do ATC. Not a smart move, IMO. When I contemplate it, the big airline companies and lobbyists benefit rather than average people.
 
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RetiredUSN said:
How do you know that nothing is wrong with it?

There actually is some what of a crisis going on with ATC workers, management, and a incompetent FAA.

Is privatization the answer..... I dunno.
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Sometimes privatization is the answer and sometimes it's not. Privatization was supposed to be the answer for airline screeners before 9-11 and we got bottom of the barrel idiots. Now that it's under the TSA we get bottom of the barrel idiots with a high wage.

As for an Incompetent FAA, I think 9/10 government agencies are incompetent.
 
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President Trump pushes for privatizing US air traffic control
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i'm against privatizing anything else for the moment. it generally just means ****tier pay and benefits for the employees, union busting, and that a few influential people get a windfall without delivering any significant and sustainable improvements. no thanks.
 

yes, let's buy safety from the lowest bidder
 

I'm not really worried about anyone questioning my non-Trumpkin credibility.... but, er, that is pretty obviously a joke.

He has no evidence to back up his claims that this move will act as a cost control, and it allows the big airlines to impose fees on passengers, that could end up costing passengers much more than the current system.
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Well, IIRC, there are privatized systems we can look at in the industrialized world to see. What has their experience been?
 
I feel like you and I have a decent respect for each other, so I have to say that on this point I think you are letting your anti-Trump feelings get the best of you. I read that statement and all I see is sarcasm. I say that because it's exactly the type of sarcasm I have seen in movies and stand-up routines all my life and it is exactly the type of sarcasm I use often.

Now, should a POTUS use sarcasm like that? Probably not, but I just don't see it as being malicious or deceiving.
 

Thanks radcen, I definitely do have respect for your opinion.

That may be, I'm vehemently anti Trump. I watched the video on that abc link in the OP.. and Trump sets in with his usual doomsday hyperbole, "disaster" type talk, and then I think he realized that air traffic control is actually pretty decent in this country, and added that it was pretty good as an afterthought. Just struck me as stupid and I thought I would remark upon it. I'll look for the video of it, one sec.
 

Second viewing, it looks like he was making a joke, and got a small laugh from the crowd. I was just thinking, that broken, antiquated, horrible system that "doesn't work", is overselling his position. I probably did let my aversion to all Trump speeches get the better of me.
 
Hopefully Trump will provide the public with information that details the issue of government ATC and how privatization will address the issues. I'm not hopeful as most of Trump's proposals are very short on justification. There are some things that are best left to the government. ATC may be one.
 

But you have to wonder WHO lobbied for this? Was it the FAA? Was it a big government contractor? Who is going to make millions and millions because of this?
 
Risky Thicket said:
But you have to wonder WHO lobbied for this? Was it the FAA? Was it a big government contractor? Who is going to make millions and millions because of this?
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Definitely a follow the money situation, as too many government decisions nowadays are.
 

All the same, I don't support this move. Our air traffic control performs quite well. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, especially when lives are at stake.
 

I'm sure his delivery sucked, definitely.
 
cpwill said:
I'm not really worried about anyone questioning my non-Trumpkin credibility.... but, er, that is pretty obviously a joke.
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My bad. I let my aversion to Trump get the better of me.



Well, IIRC, there are privatized systems we can look at in the industrialized world to see. What has their experience been?
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...2ab5745db2e_story.html?utm_term=.2bfeb5a4ec02

Here's a pros and cons..

 
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