The Government Giveth, and then . . . the Government Taketh Away.

It’s my habit to roll out of bed early almost every morning. By “early”, I mean it’s usually somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00 o’clock. I sit down at the computer in my little office and start to catch up on email correspondence. Next I check the Boston Globe for any news of the Red Sox because we’re badly in need of another big bat. From there, I move on to the New York Times and the Washington Post to see what’s been going on back east.
 
About 6:15, my wife emerges from the bedroom and—it’s become a very unfunny joke—my first words of the day are, “Would you like to hear about the Outrage-of-the-Day?”
 
Often, there are several from which to choose, but here’s my outrage choice for today and, relatively speaking, it’s a minor one. To give credit where it’s due, I was alerted to it by the Travelers United website.
 
First, a bit of background . . .

The Federal Aviation Agency is part of the Department of Transportation bureaucracy. When it comes to air travel, the FAA calls the shots. By that, I mean they not only make the rules, they also enforce them.
 
In July of 2011, under the Obama Administration, the Department of Transportation adopted a rule that said the public must be notified in advance whenever the FAA was going to discuss changing one of the rules affecting air travel.
 
But suddenly, under the Trump Administration, the rule about changing the rules has changed again. In fact, it’s been reversed 180 degrees. From now on, says the Department of Transportation, no advance notice will be given when the FAA is going to consider a rule change.
 
And will the non-profit and volunteer organizations like Travelers United know about such meetings? Will they be able to get to the hearing to testify or alert their members in time to generate a few thousand letters? Who knows? But you can be damn sure that all the lobbyists representing the airlines will somehow, someway have gotten the word. That’s how Washington works these days.