It seems to me that we'd be better off lettin' railroads do what railroads do best-- move the heaviest stuff that needs to be moved. For people, what we need is a CHEAPER WAY TO FLY. In other words, tons of folks WOULD fly more often, if it was only CHEAP ENOUGH. Heck it costs like 333 bucks or so to get from Memphis to Tampa on Northwest Airlines (which has a hub here), last time I checked, and that's leavin' afore Wednesday, and a comin' back ohn Sundee'.

What if we subsidized airlines with cash like that?

In other words, what if... instead of buying another dang aircraft carrier for 5 billion bucks, we spent that money to subsidize airlines?

Instead of it costing 333 bucks to fly out to F.L.A. and back for a week, imagine if it cost only 80 bucks? Now, you're talkin' about folks doing weekend jaunts all over America!

So the question is even bigger than consumption of oil; it's a question of HOW we can bring America TRULY into the age of the Jetsons. How can we eliminate (as much as possible) the time and cost constraints of geographical realities in travel?

I personally think we WILL solve some of this stuff, and by the time some of us here are really old you'll see small, lightweight and very fast airplanes, and an age where millions literally FLY across America in their own personal transportation devices that are similar to the planes of today. And those who can't afford it will be able to afford an 'air taxi' that WILL get them there. But in terms of travel between major cities, the BEST WAY to get people all over America travelling is to REDUCE the COST of airline tickets. It is the COST that holds the industry back.

If we subsidized airlines like we do farmers we would already be able to fly from Knoxville to Daytona Beach for a weekend for 90 bucks!

The deal is that we have to have legal reforms to stop lawyers from wrecking aviation, and we need less regulations from Uncle Sam. We could already be at the point where a Memphis to Nashville flight there and back could be as little as 28 bucks. There's no reason NOT to encourage a huge amount of travel between American cities, and there IS a certain amount of disposable income for that per capita per family per person.

The sad reality is that airline travel costs WAY TOO MUCH in terms of benefit, and these increases in airline security have made it even harder for airlines to make money. You got dorks searching 80 year old ladies, man; you got guards 'wanding' 90 year old men. People who get hassled, and know they will get hassled, are none too happy about it when they GET hassled. They start looking for shorter ventures, and ways around air travel. So nine eleven has hurt us BEYOND that tragedy in terms of paranoia.

We had 19 middle eastern males under 40 years old RUIN the aviation travel industry, and that is just DUMB. We should employ profiling in airports with all due haste, and stop harranging 90 year old japanese women trying to go see their sons.

But it is the COST of tickets that needs to come down about 40% and we'd see a HUGE INCREASE in the travel industry among Americans. And this can only benefit us all.

Rail is TOO SLOW. It can't compete with good airline travel point to point. Solve the cost problem, and you'd see Americans taking off on weekends like never before.

But that's just me.

Hey OIG, or sumpin' like dat.

it's fucking hilarious.

and you know what it always begins with?....

yep:

Show me a Boeing 747, 767, et. al. that doesn't dump 1/4 of its fuel load over the Smokies, and I'll eat your hat. Change the turbines to burn Hydrogen, and you've got a winner, but thats way too far off. High Speed Rail must subsidize while we wait.

BushCo wants you to believe that Rail is for freight alone, and he's hiring mouthpieces to say just that.

Airports have become places where Paranoid People stare at and get stared back at by other Paranoid People, scanning the waiting areas with high anxiety, praying for a glimpse of Army Fatigues sporting American flags and un-locked Uzis. They are not the hospitable places they once used to be. Too bad. Find another means of mass transit.