Monday, September 13, 2004

A Story That Makes Me See Red (Ink)

From AP via Yahoo! News:
US Airways Gets OK to Use Taxpayer Funds

By MATTHEW BARAKAT, AP Business Writer

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A bankruptcy judge gave US Airways Group Inc. permission Monday to tap a government loan to fund daily operations — a move expected to allow the airline to continue its normal flight schedule while it searches for additional financing....
The headline has it right. A "loan fund" is funded by taxpayers. I guess airlines have become as indispensible as farms. Why can't we just let them disappear gracefully instead of prolonging their death throes? Too little faith in the power of America's economic engine; too much clout in Washington.