On Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:42:56 -0400, Peter Clark
wrote in
:

Ya know, as BS as these oil and fuel prices are, it'll be fun to watch
the airlines continue to dance and wave at GA causing their delays and
other scheduling issues when significant portions of the GA fleet are
decreasing usage due to the cost and airlines themselves are slashing
their own schedules.

Oh, the airline lobby will continue to push their ridiculous assertion
that GA is the source of the flying public's airline flight delays,
despite its absurdity, because the public is so uninformed and
apathetic that it will still resonate with them. And Congress will
continue to swallow it, because they dance to the tune ($) of the
lobbyists.

What the air carriers and airliner manufacturers actually object to,
IMO, are the former 1st-class corporate pax who have decided to switch
to fractional/charter GA flights rather than continue to be victims of
the TSA/DHS, and obscene airline scheduling practices, not
private/recreational operations.

I look for the dramatic increase in fuel prices to finally force
Congress and the president to implement a reasonable alternative
energy policy for our nation. That will be about the sole benefit
increased fuel prices will precipitate. I expect their effect on
price inflation, the value of the dollar, and civil unrest will be
devastating. And then there's the issue of nearly a trillion dollars
in credit card debt in the US. Defaults and personal bankruptcies
will be rampant. David Brooks mentioned debt recently:


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/op...on&oref=slogin
...
The social norms and institutions that encouraged frugality and
spending what you earn have been undermined. The institutions that
encourage debt and living for the moment have been strengthened.
The country’s moral guardians are forever looking for decadence
out of Hollywood and reality TV. But the most rampant decadence
today is financial decadence, the trampling of decent norms about
how to use and harness money.

The deterioration of financial mores has meant two things. First,
it’s meant an explosion of debt that inhibits social mobility and
ruins lives. Between 1989 and 2001, credit-card debt nearly
tripled, soaring from $238 billion to $692 billion. By last year,
it was up to $937 billion, the report said.

Second, the transformation has led to a stark financial
polarization. On the one hand, there is what the report calls the
investor class. It has tax-deferred savings plans, as well as an
army of financial advisers. On the other hand, there is the
lottery class, people with little access to 401(k)’s or financial
planning but plenty of access to payday lenders, credit cards and
lottery agents. ... which some people call a tax on stupidity.