I get that the Trump admin doesn't care a bit about the impact of the shutdown on the general population (they're fighting in court for NOT having to release the emergency funding that would instantly reinstate SNAP) and probably even welcome it as an opportunity for "government downsizing" - but things like air traffic becoming restricted would start to touch even the areas that the ultra-rich are interested in, would it?
The shutdown impacts Federal FAA controllers (at major centers/towers) who are considered essential and must work without pay.
However, many smaller FBO-serving towers are staffed by Contract Controllers, who are employed by private companies holding FAA contracts.
These contract controllers generally continue to receive their pay during a shutdown, shielding them from the immediate financial crisis affecting their federal counterparts.
Yes, air cargo will be impacted as well which will change the costs for businesses. They'll need to start shifting to other freight methods (rail, truck, ship) if available and those operate on different timescales than air cargo which can have further downstream effects impacting businesses' abilities to actually do their business.
More as an interesting fact than trying to be argumentative:
In the current electorate, Democrats are supported by a majority of both low-income and high-income voters. Republicans even it out by having a majority of the middle income voters, especially those without a college degree.
Wouldn't private planes still necessitate air traffic controllers? I remember when I flew with my uncle in his small private plane [1] he had to fairly frequently chatter with the air traffic people over the radio to report his position and altitude and the like.
[1] Just a tiny two seat thing, I don't come from billionaires, it wasn't a cool private jet.
No one rich enough flying what the average person would consider a "private jet" or private plane would be flying VFR from uncontrolled airport to uncontrolled airport. The "ultra rich" are not puttering around in single-engine Cessnas
yes but Musk has claimed he could trivially re-implement the system with more or less only using AI
putting aside weather that is true or not and just assume it to be true for the later argument
then it is the perfect chance to replace a public service the country depends on by a billionaire controlled private company
thats how you convert a country to an oligarchy, bit by bit replacing essential parts with entities privately owned and (most importantly) controlled by a few people so that a country "has to" depend on them to function and they can use it as leverage to force through their interests
to be fair, this might not be the intend here. A lot of the shutdown seem more blind ideological driven then well calculated, but it's a potential danger anyway
That's... concerning to anyone who has tried or witnessed a trivial rewrite. Let me hold some hope in the institutions that be to stop this from being hastily deployed.
