Is Wichita Obama's Post-Katrina New Orleans?

Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, President Bush took a lot of heat for his tepid response—both personally and nationally—to the disaster. His airborne photo-op observation of the site of the catastrophe struck many Americans as being an insensitive and wholly insufficient response to the disaster. Only many days later and after the criticism did he hit the ground in New Orleans (though once on the ground, his “Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job” remark proved another lowlight of the Katrina response).

            I know you can’t directly compare what is happening in the aviation industry to Hurricane Katrina’s ravaging of the United States Gulf Coast, a natural disaster as a result of which around 1,500 people died, and one that threw hundreds of thousands of lives into chaos. Many of those lives are still in disarray.

But over the past year the aviation industry in the United States has suffered a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions itself. As you know, the calamity is largely due to the world economic crisis that struck last year that crippled the commercial and private credit markets. The result of the collapse was the dumping of hundreds of late model business aircraft on an already saturated used market and the wholesale canceling of hundreds more bizjet orders, with order holders abandoning even large deposits to dump their spots.

But the industry suffered a double whammy when a number of politicians, including President Obama, piled on a staggering industry, portraying business aviation as an expensive and irresponsible perk.

The result of these twin attacks, one economic and one political, soon impacted the lives of tens of thousands of aircraft workers who build and support the airplanes that are at the heart of what we do. There are approximately 1.2 million of these skilled and valuable workers.

In Wichita alone, aerospace companies laid off 27,000 workers. And that’s not just a big number. It’s a big number of people. People with incomes, health benefits, with children in schools and with homes to maintain. And in Savannah and Little Rock and Phoenix and Duluth, the effect was the same. Lost jobs, lives thrown into disarray and no relief in sight.

The effects of such job losses on the economy are easy to compute—they total into the billions--but the personal costs, in terms of family life, opportunities for the children of those who lose their jobs and the loss of hope and optimism are not well known but are great.

True, there was no actual Hurricane that blew through Wichita, but the calamity there is very real and can be measured in the economic and emotional casualties on the ground there, and everywhere in the United States where aviation businesses let people go for lack of business.

And it’s time for President Obama to get on the ground in Wichita, to get his hands dirty and meet those people face to face who have lost their jobs and are in trouble today and who face an uncertain future.

It will take a lot of courage for President Obama to make that trip, because unlike his predecessor with Katrina, President Obama bears some personal responsibility for this catastrophe.

Comments

[Ed Cooper]

If you're standing on the tarmac at Wichita or Savannah waiting for the President to arrive with help, I have bad news for you. Kansas voted for the Republican ticket in at least the last FOUR presidential elections, as did Georgia. It's probably gonna be a while...

This is politics, plain and simple. Take a look at which states this guy visited (using HIS corporate airplane, which is apparently OK) his first six months in office. I believe you'll find that precisely 0.00 percent of them were red states! There will be no bailout plan for the business aircraft industry, which may or may not be a good thing. Just out of curiosity, are the Chinese building bizjets yet? Hmm, maybe they would be willing to accept a few nationalized aerospace manufacturers as a down payment on our debt...

[Lee]

Let's not forget what administration created the problems the current administration is now expected to have reversed in fewer than 300 days.
Not many said a word during the eight years the previous administration determined it would deregulate the financial markets and treat the war in Iraq as something it need not paid for.
If FLYING has decided to start a political debate, it can remove my name as a subscriber.

[Don Elliott]

No one in the world burns more Jet-A than Pres. Obama and his family (often in seperate jets going to the same place!). He has done nothing since being sworn in but travel at our expense, it seems. He makes Nancy Pelosi look like a light-weight! I'm sick of hearing of his travels...

[Herb Jacobs.]

The President is a financial child. He knows naught of how the economy operates. True the mess is not all his, but not all GW Bushs either. The deregulation was from the Clinton group, especially Barney Frank. To this day, the US government has over 200 employees just to oversee the Fanny Mae and the Freddy Mac, and they did nothing. They are still at their jobs. We have a very sad group in power with extremely poor financial skills.

[Rich Martindell]

I agree that the president is clueless when it comes to his negative impact on the industry however, the big three auto execs got the ball rolling with their ignorance of the perception they created thinking they chould go to Washington in a business as usual mode. Clearly stupidty is non-partisan and equal opportunity.

[Jim Buist]

Lee, Ed said it correctly when he stated, "this is politics, plain and simple". This IS politics, which was started by a left wing extremest who recognizes that KS didn't vote for him. B.O. is only interested in promoting B.O. and not taking responsibility for how his actions and words have affected the economy, aviation specifically. When it comes to "private aviation", he is a complete hypocrite.

FLYING magazine didn't start a political debate. WE the people did! If you discontinue your subscription, you will only be hurting yourself. To blame FLYING for this shows that you don't understand and are part of the problem, that you don't recognize or admit that elections have consequences.

[Cathy Ahles]

In addition to the economic impact on the big manufacturers who were forced to lay off thousands of people, let's not forget the devastaton to smaller manufacturers like Mooney and smaller towns like Kerrville, Texas, where the economy revolves around the jobs created by this fine American heritage brand. We also have to take into account the human cost as the economic crisis trickled down to small companies such as mine, the nation's largest dealer of Mooney and Diamond and a new dealer of Aviat Husky.

At its peak, Premier employed 45 people directly -- but our "Premier family" is upwards of 150 people when you consider spouses and children supported by Premier paychecks. These families have mortgages to pay, food to buy, and the immediate and relentless needs of school-age children...and are struggling to make ends meet. The layoffs, administrative pay cuts and sales staff compensation changes we were forced to make were heartbreaking -- but necessary for survival.

Thanks for keeping this issue in front of the thinking public -- and for calling out politicians advancing political legislative agendas formed without a real understanding of the contributions of our important industry.

[Ken]

I agree with Lee, Obama inherited the financial disaster that we are currently experiencing from the worst president/administration I've seen in my fifty nine years on this planet. Give the current administration a chance to reverse the trend before you start throwing stones. The prior administration spent eight years destroying our economy, no one can be expected to fix it in a year. If Obama and his administration fail, there is another election in three years. Again, as Lee stated, if Flying Magazine is going to start taking a partisan stand regarding political issues they can remove my name as a subscriber as well.

[Dave C.]

I thought this was "Flying", not "Fox." I will not be renewing my subscription.

[James Oliphant]

I live in ICT. I work in the aviation industry. When all of this hit and the WARN notices went out, it was like being at a mass hanging; who is next,where do you go, how will I eat, pay the bills? Now, guaranteed, we won't see PBO in our fair city anytime soon. Yes, we're a red state. But the actions and words of ONE man directly influenced the entire community, neighbors have moved, arts organizations are hurting (I know, I direct a community band, will my engineer from Cessna have a job or be gone?) the food banks can't keep up with the demand, schools have more kids on free lunches. Yes, the man owes us a visit to see the devastation that he caused. It wasn't caused by the weather here.

[K Krumm]

Bsrney Frank (D) and Nancy Pelosi(D) were the ones who opened the credit markets up, check your recent history. We'll still be blaming Bush when the sun goes nova. B.O. has slaughtered American Industry to pander to the economic groups who got him elected. His socialist agenda will mean the end of the thing that made America the world leader, capitalism. Watch B.O.'s popularity sink as the price of gas rises again. Go green, in a few years we'll all be traveling by horse again.

[Jeff Mirsepasy]

I am surprised how bad many pilots' memories are! For eight years Bush did nothing for the economy and allowed it to spiral into chaos. The debt went up $3 Trillion under GW Bush and nary a peep from you right wing pilots (http://www.lafn.org/gvdc/Natl_Debt_Chart.html). Now suddenly you object to Obama doing what he can to right the ship, which includes burning some Jet A! What hypocrites!

[K Krumm]

Typical leftwing nuts, if you criticize their President, they'll stop talking to you. And you call pilots hypocrites? It's truly a shame that, with B.O.s policies coming apart, someone has started to pick on him the way they picked on Bush from day one. First comes planes, then comes guns, then comes freedom of the press, then what? Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for America.

[Cliff]

Some of you guys just don't get it. This is not a Republican/Democrat thing. This has been in the works for a very long time and is caused by the Global Elite and Bankers. They are to blame for all of it. They have literally robbed every country in the world of their real money and replaced it with fiat interest bearing notes. Now they must destroy the U.S. dollar to gain global dominace with their new currency and install their total global dictatorship. This is not just petty politics, it is a global takeover of all economies and the enslavement of all peoples of the world.

[Gary in Evergreen CO]

People, reread what the editorial said: "the calamity is largely due to the world economic crisis."

Then it suggests "a double whammy when a number of politicians, including President Obama, piled on a staggering industry, portraying business aviation as an expensive and irresponsible perk." Well, in part I agree. Nobody piled on the a/c industry, but rather the use of business aviation BY SOME as a perk to fly on vacations with family and to impress clients. These are not valid uses for business travel, they are abuses of it and this is what the criticism was about.

Sure it hurt the industry, so when will businesses that do so take responsibility for it? Never. They just take enormous bonuses. (I'm a GA owner/pilot.)

[Ivan]

I agree with Lee and others who love flying and are disturbed by Flying's turning this into a Fox mess. I wished the magazine would be above this stupidity, but apparrently not. So I am canceling this rubbish too.

[Bob]

I will add an additional 5 subscriptions myself to help Flying offset the liberal morons who think they can stick their heads in the sand and depend on a socialist financial infant to get us out of this mess by selling bonds to China and giving the money away here. Come on people, NOTHING is free. Why would any President badmouth a productive industry unless he is an idiot.

[Ron Russell]

Well, Bob. Make that 6 subscriptions. I agree that he probably misspoke (or put his foot in his mouth, whichever). But I would like to point out that I lost my flying job BEFORE he became President. And it wasn't just Barney Frank that set this crisis up, it was bipartisan. Have you heard of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. Passes in a Republican controled house and senate. But they could not have done it without support from the democratic side.
So don't blame the current President. I may have lost my job, but at least I didn't lose my country.

[Ed]

The Democratic Finance committee (Barney Frank(D), Chris Dodds(D), And Senator B. Obama(D) All blocked investigative oversight of Fanny and Freddie resulting in the the Mortgage Loan Scandal crisis. This is what Collapsed our economy. BO and this Democratic controlled Congress are continuing to destroy our economy so as to "re-distribute the wealth" Hey Dave C, Ken, Lee, and Ron, let me know how change works for you guys when they give your airplanes to some guy on welfare. Bob I'm with you, I'll help pick up the die hard democrat subscriptions.

[Peter T]

To everyone who wants to cancel their subscriptions, please keep in mind that a blog is not the magazine. An editor is free to state his opinion, and you are free not to read a blog if you're not interested in other people's hysteric opinions.

While 99% of the blogs on the Flying site are rational discussions (which is a refreshing change from the other 99.9% of the internet), don't tell me you really expected that if an editor makes a political comment it's not going to bring out the "best" of the right and left wingers? Even pilots aren't immune to irrational political blabbering.

IMHO Cliff had it right: it's the greedy bankers and financial "wizards" who got us into this mess. And the fact that they are still going with "their" Gulfstreams on golfing holidays to the Bahamas while half of "their" workforce gets sacked rightfully gets people angry.

At the same time with all of the paper wealth they created, they also created an aviation bubble that was doomed to burst. Come on, does anyone *really* believe there is a market for 2 dozen companies manufacturing biz jets? And for a dozen different VLJ's?? Aircraft manufacturers should be happy they had a good long run over the last decade, lergely due to a lot of false wealth that was created, but I don't think anyone with a little common sense believed it was sustainable.

And while it is terrible that a lot of jobs have been impacted from Wichita to Kerrville, in an industry that we feel strongly about because it is very dear to our hearts, let's be fair: it's just one small industry among many dozens that have been destroyed by the greedy fat cats who thought that they could fool everyone by selling our mortgages to each other over an over again.

[Tom]

These liberal nutjobs will continue to blame Bush forever because it is taboo to criticize their messiah, B Hussein O. The magazine is outstanding and the editorial right on the money. The contempt this administration holds against the GA industry is going to hurt a lot of people. I bet we all look insignificant from the windows of Air Force One and Michelle One.

[Lee Burk]

First of all it started with Jimmy Carter. Then it took Reagan eight years and Bush the elder four years to get the economy headed back. Then we had Clinton and his eight years. The economy was good for the better part of his two terms because of the previous twelve years. Now we are seeing the effects of Clintons policies. George W. is not to blame because he was trying to manage a war (that was a direct result of Clinton foreign policy decisions). Anyone who believes this economic collapse is because of Bush is ignorant. And if you cancel your subscriptions because you can't handle political debate and criticism so be it. You're of the same ilk as BHO who can't handle the criticism from Fox and the other conservative news folks and now is trying to tear them down. It's going to come back and bite y'all in the butt before it's over.

[Cliff]

All I can say is that when they pass the Copenhagen Treaty, there will be little air traffic allowed, and it will be highly carbon taxed. The only real air traffic that will be deemed necessary will be military/police, surveillance, and drones. So if Wichita can gear up to produce these type items, they may have a future. I'm thinking like urban suppressive helicopters. Learn to fly them or make them, and you might have an aviation future. I know my flying days are over.

[Mark in Idaho]

Lee Burk said it best. Except he missed an important point. Clinton had the good fortune to be president during a Perfect Storm economically. The internet was maturing at enormous speed. The Y2K bug had everybody upgrading their computer systems. Stocks and stock options fueled an enormous but unsustainable economic engine. Big money got greedy. Real estate jumped on the back of the Y2K WWW engine fueled by a push for subprime loans to unqualified minority home buyers and over leveraged yuppy types.
Part of the bubble burst in 2000. People hung on to their over mortgaged homes waiting for the next bubble.
Instead, the world started to see reality. Everything crashed. The aircraft industry just happened to be fueled by "disposable income and discretionary expenses ." Tough times hit disposable income and discretionary expenses first. Credit dried up, Aircraft crashed, yachts sunk, life goes on.
Who prevented derivatives and credit default swaps from being regulated? Clinton and his regulators. Now we have Sunstein and his ilk to regulate industry into the stone age.