USA Today .. Positive GA Pub

Judah writes:

Irrelevant.

You think that the amount of money a person spends on something should
be uncorrelated with the use he gets out of it?

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Mxsmanic wrote in
news
You think that the amount of money a person spends on something should
be uncorrelated with the use he gets out of it?

People spend similar amounts of money on cigarettes. I believe a plane is
more useful than cigarettes.

People spend less money on childbirth. I believe a child is more useful than
a car, a plane, or a cigarette.

But value is personal. And spending priorities even moreso. What you or I
think about how someone else should spend their money is irrelevant.

I'm not suggesting that everyone who makes $50,000 / yr should go out and buy
a plane. I'm merely pointing out the absurdity of your suggestion that most
people don't have the option.

Judah writes:

People spend similar amounts of money on cigarettes. I believe a plane is
more useful than cigarettes.

Not to heavy smokers.

People spend less money on childbirth. I believe a child is more useful than
a car, a plane, or a cigarette.

Useful? I suppose if there are no child labor laws.

But value is personal. And spending priorities even moreso. What you or I
think about how someone else should spend their money is irrelevant.

The problem is that people who don't share your preferences may find
them unacceptable or excessive. So it might not be a good idea to
advertise them.

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Mxsmanic wrote in
:

Judah writes:

People spend similar amounts of money on cigarettes. I believe a plane
is more useful than cigarettes.

Not to heavy smokers.

Exactly - beauty is in the eyes of the beholder...

People spend less money on childbirth. I believe a child is more useful
than a car, a plane, or a cigarette.

Useful? I suppose if there are no child labor laws.

Again, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder...

But value is personal. And spending priorities even moreso. What you or
I think about how someone else should spend their money is irrelevant.

The problem is that people who don't share your preferences may find
them unacceptable or excessive. So it might not be a good idea to
advertise them.

No, the problem is that YOU don't share my preferences and find them
unacceptable or excessive. And you think that the rest of the world feels
the same way as you "because it's obvious" to you.

But the fact is that there are hundreds of millions of people in the US,
and perhaps 6 Billion in the world, and you have no idea what their
priorities are, or what they value.

Perhaps there are people out there who have dreamt about flying since they
were little boys or girls, but never heard of GA, and didn't know they
could just hop on over to the airport and learn to fly. Perhaps they were
never exposed to a story like the one in USA today.

Is that so far-fetched?

Judah writes:

No, the problem is that YOU don't share my preferences and find them
unacceptable or excessive.

Actually, I'm quite interested in aviation. But I'm an exception to
the rule. People who don't fly don't care, and would cheerfully sign
a prohibition on flying with even slight provocation. Noise from
aircraft over their houses? Forbid flying. Jessica Dubroff dead?
Forbid flying. A baseball player nearly killing people in their homes
in Manhattan? Forbid flying.

Be careful what you wish for. Informing people of something that you
know about doesn't mean that they will have the same opinion of it as
you do. What seems like a great hobby to you may seem like a
dangerous practice that should be outlawed to them.

And you think that the rest of the world feels
the same way as you "because it's obvious" to you.

No, I'm simply very good at seeing other points of view, and thus very
prudent about trying to promote my own.

But the fact is that there are hundreds of millions of people in the US,
and perhaps 6 Billion in the world, and you have no idea what their
priorities are, or what they value.

On the contrary, human behavior in large populations is pretty
consistent and predictable, as many politicians know so well. If you
plan to put yourself or your ideas in the public eye, you need to
understand how that behavior works.

Perhaps there are people out there who have dreamt about flying since they
were little boys or girls, but never heard of GA, and didn't know they
could just hop on over to the airport and learn to fly.

Maybe, but they are a tiny minority at best.

There are also many more people who couldn't care less about flying
who may start to wonder about the safety of having people zipping
around in tiny planes above them once they learn that it is happening.

Is that so far-fetched?

No, but it is a very skewed view, dangerously so, in fact.

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