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United States Pilots Association |
AOPA is always working for the benefit of General Aviation. I seem to recall that then-candidate Obama stated in AOPA's magazine prior to the election in November of 2008 that he was against user fees in any form. We are all aware that John McCain was an advocate of user fees. Perhaps many who read the Obama column may have voted for him in the mistaken belief that he really cared about non-airline flying. My conclusion is this. There is no basic difference between one party or the other. They both say one thing and do the other. Remember, "Read My Lips," etc. The only way we will defeat this once and for all is to lobby our elected officials continuously until we get their attention. I for one am tired of being asked to subsidize one group (the airlines) while they get a free ticket to the bankruptcy court.
I say again, this issue is no different than negotiating with Chavez, Assad, and the Taliban. You do not negotiate with bullies. Instead, you make your case in the media and get the public's attention. When the charity flying ceases because of increased costs, and we begin parking our airplanes, then and only then will Congress take notice that the remedy was far worse than the illness. We need to take the gloves off and once and for all defeat this issue. Stop thinking that being nice will work. It will not.
Our current administration in Washington wants to make all of us equal. Never mind that this radical form of socialism has never worked. If you want to see what the inevitable results of user fees will be, just look at the European Union. A cross country flight of 500 miles could easily cost you over $300.00 in fees alone.
Steve Uslan, President
United States Pilots Association