Unintended Consequences: The Clumsy Axe Of The State

[Trademark]

In their relentless pursuit to protect us from businesses, the state often wields a clumsy axe that produces unintended consequences. There are myriad examples, but one will suffice...

Continental CEO will cancel flights before fines - Yahoo! News

This case exposes one of the chronic problems associated with central planning: the state lacks sufficient information to know how actors will act. In this case, the state poses a fine rather than letting customers decide and *poof*, the resource disappears. Or, more to the point, prices eventually rise.

 

[Nostalgae]

Sounds like the airline and the state or whatever authority bitching at each other to me.

Smisek said at an investor conference in New York that long delays are rare, and mostly caused by an outdated air traffic control system that the government has failed to upgrade.

Carriers have it within their power to schedule their flights more realistically, to have spare aircraft and crews available to avoid cancellations" and to rebook passengers when there are cancellations, Mosley said.

 

[ly2 from WF]

Under a Transportation Department rule taking effect next month, airlines can be fined up to $27,500 per passenger if planes are delayed three hours and passengers can't get off.

That $27k fine goes straight back to the tax payers or to pay down national debt amirite?

 

[guerilla]

That $27k fine goes straight back to the tax payers or to pay down national debt amirite?

Governments take from private citizens, it doesn't return money to them.

Whose pocket will pay that fine? The shareholders of the airline. Where will they place pressure to make up for the fines? Lower wages for employees and reduced service offerings to customers.

The state cannot create anything. It can only redistribute or steal what is already in the marketplace.

 

[LotsOfZeros]

These 'unintended consequences' could be seen coming from a mile away by some of us.
Screw the government - such idiots. I remember when this issue first hit the news, I wondered which airline would be the first to say, "screw everyone".