I’m still shaking my head over the irresponsible behavior of Congress that left Federal Aviation Administration employees out of work for two weeks this summer.
The employees and contractors — such as those at the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Egg Harbor Township — lost paychecks and local businesses lost revenue because Congress is unable to pass a long-term authorization bill for the FAA. The latest short-term bill got caught up in an argument over union voting rules and funding for small airports. Another example of ideology getting in the way of simply getting a job done.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t see Congress getting more competent anytime soon. That’s why I think something as important as the safety of air travel — or as the NextGen air control research being done in EHT — should have a stable source of funding. Something that’s out of the reach of political squabbles.
So I was fascinated by a column by Robert Poole at reason.com that points out how these short-term reauthorizations are actually costing us all money and proposes an alternative that seems to work for the rest of the world.
