Governments can’t run businesses

Free markets deliver happiness, capitalism is a blessing.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 [Open in browser]( [Governments can’t run businesses]() Free markets deliver happiness, capitalism is a blessing. [Marc Cenedella, Author]( Jul 15 As if we needed more proof, the case of passenger airlines proves that governments can’t run businesses.  For the first forty years of its life, the airline industry was controlled by the US government - prices, routes, amenities were all dictated by a government agency.  And for the past forty-plus years, since 1978, the industry has run itself, with airlines and customers making their own free choices in a capitalist economy. The result has been an explosion in consumer choice, huge increases in airline traffic, better safety, and lower fares. Capitalism works, socialism doesn’t.  For some reason, liberal policymakers learn this lesson the hard way every time, only to forget it again, and rehash the same dumb ideas.  They’re the goldfish of politics - forgetting every ten seconds what centuries of facts and data have proven over and over again. Now the amazing story of airline deregulation is who the heroes are.  Believe it or not, it was Senator Ted Kennedy, President Jimmy Carter, and Stephen Breyer - the recently retired liberal Supreme Court Justice - who really led the charge to set the airline industry free. You see, what happened is that some airlines in the 1970s were doing a terrific job - lower fares, higher customer satisfaction, more seats sold on every plane, and thus more profitability - and some were doing a much worse job.  Senator Kennedy launched Senate hearings to find out why…... Keep reading with a 7-day free trial Subscribe to American Ambition to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. [Start trial]( A subscription gets you: Subscriber-only posts and full archive Post comments and join the community Deeper insights throughout the week © 2022 Marc Cenedella 244 Fifth Ave, Suite D100, New York, NY 10001 [Unsubscribe]() [Get the app]( writing](