Customers vs. Citizens

This just in: FAA finally listens to me. Okay, me and a few thousand other people.

FAA says airlines are no longer its 'customers'

”Responding to criticism that his agency has become too cozy with companies it regulates, the new head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday the FAA will stop calling airlines "customers," as he announced steps to ensure air carriers comply with safety orders. “

It’s the nice thing about having loyal readers -- they remind me that occasionally I say something that makes sense.

” The FAA isn't a business -- it's the government. Your government. Why would anyone willingly accept a demotion from citizen to customer?“

I wonder, is anyone in Australia listening ?

Stick with me folks...

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

That doesn’t say “We the Businesses...”. It doesn’t say “We the Customers...in Order to ensure a Business makes a Profit...” It’s the People. They are the important thing. I like businesses. I like them a lot. Big ones, little ones, in-between ones. I like to shop, I like cool widgets and I like for people to be gainfully employed. Yay Business ! Rah ! Rah ! Sis-boom-bah ! Gooooooo Business !

All right. Now that we’ve got that nonsense out of the way... a government isn’t responsible to businesses. It is responsible to the citizens. The government isn’t a business and therefore, it doesn’t have customers. And anybody that tells you different is just shilling for a business (.pdf file, click at your own risk.)

Don Brown
September 18, 2009

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