Abolish The FAA!: Take Cues From "Right-Wing Radicals" In Canada

Politicians and bureaucrats use of the sequester budget cuts as an excuse to gain a political edge over their opponents has not surprised this liberty lover.  This practice has been particularly obvious with the handling of the cuts and furloughs at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).An Op-ed published in today’s Wall Street Journal, detailed some ways the bosses at the FAA are trying to make customers feel pain from sequester induced budget cuts.

FAA regional employees wrote to blow the whistle on their bosses. As one email put it, "the FAA management has stated in meetings that they need to make the furloughs as hard as possible for the public so that they understand how serious it is."Strategies include encouraging union workers to take the same furlough day to increase congestion. "I am disgusted with everything that I see since the sequester took place," another FAA employee wrote. "Whether in HQ or at the field level it is clear that our management has no intention of managing anything. The only effort that I see is geared towards generating fear and demonstrating failure."

The big wigs at the FAA and in the Obama Administration are providing the perfect opportunity for libertarians to present the argument for privatization of air traffic control (ATC).  The government struggles to run the post office and it should not be a surprise that the FAA has struggled mightily implementing necessary upgrades in the technology intensive field of ATC.Chris Edwards published an opinion article at the Daily Caller that exposes the extent of the FAA financial and schedule troubles.

The sequester mess is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the FAA’s problems. The agency, for example, has struggled with a big upgrade to its air traffic management system called NextGen. The upgrade will need a high degree of technical and management effectiveness to succeed. It’s not clear that the FAA is up to the challenge given its long history of screw-ups on technology projects.Last year Bloomberg reported: “More than one-third of the 30 contracts critical to building a new U.S. air-traffic system are over budget and half are delayed, a government audit concluded. Eleven of the 30 contracts underpinning the so-called NextGen system exceed projected costs by a total of $4.2 billion, according to a Government Accountability Office report released today. Fifteen of the contracts are behind schedule by an average of four years, the GAO report said.”

Here at Lions of Liberty we frequently gripe about the Transportation Security Agency and call for the privatization of the industry, but until now we have not closely examined the bloated bureaucracy that enjoys an ATC monopoly, the FAA.Privatization of the FAA is not a topic that is raised for discussion in Washington.  Most fiscal conservatives would not dare mention the privatization of the FAA for fear of being called a right-wing radical.  This is interesting because most people would not consider Canada a country that implements policies backed by right-wing radicals.  But Canada is one of many countries that cede operation of their ATC to a private company.Since the 1996 Canada’s ATC has been operated by Nav Canada.  Nav Canada takes no government subsidies and is fully funded by customer usage fees.

On November 1, 1996, the responsibility for the country’s Air Navigation Services’ (ANS) network and facilities was transferred from Transport Canada, part of the Canadian federal government, to NAV CANADA for $1.5 billion (Cdn).The company was created primarily through the collaborative efforts of employees, unions, pilots, airlines, government officials, and other members of the aviation sector who shared concerns over the ability of the ANS to meet the challenges of the next decades.

Although Nav Canada does not sound like it was founded under true free market conditions (Note the mention of government officials in the quote above), it is obvious that Canada's system has a better operating model than the United States.  Another excerpt from the same Daily Caller Opinion piece cited above describes additional economic benefits that Canada has enjoys by exporting home-grown ATC technology to countries around the world.

Nav Canada also has a good record on developing new technologies . According to the company’s chairman, it has “sold and installed our home-grown technology around the world from Australia to Hong Kong to Dubai, and all over the UK and Europe.”Nav Canada is a “global leader in delivering top-class performance,” says the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Indeed, the company has won the IATA Eagle Award three times. The IATA notes: “This is the third Eagle Award for Nav Canada, following previous awards in 2010 and 2001. Its strong track record of working closely with its customers to improve performance through regular and meaningful consultations, combined with technical and operational investments supported by extensive cost-benefit analysis, place it at the forefront of the industry’s air navigation service providers.”

There is no way of forecasting if a true free market in air traffic control would encourage several regional suppliers to enter the field or if one company would effectively preside over the entirety of United States air space.  Even if only one supplier has a position in an industry, they are still influenced by the threat of potential competition.  I discussed this very topic in a previous Mondays With Murray:  Competition and Monopoly:

Proponents of market intervention by the State struggle with this concept.  They would claim a business that operates in an industry which does not face any actual competitors, would raise prices and lower quality at the detriment of the consumer and to the benefit of their bottom line.  Rothbard points out that even if there is only one firm in a given field, they must be cognizant of potential competitors entering the industry.  Businesses hate to bring in other competitors because they will lower profit.  Rothbard states that potential competition is equally powerful to actual competition.

Next time you are trying to convince someone that we need to end the TSA, make sure to double down and tell them we need to abolish the FAA as well!Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!