But in fact, the true obsession of Capitol Hill is taking stuff away from crowded places and giving it to the ones that are empty or shrinking. North Dakota may not have many people, but it still has two senators, and last month one of them interrupted a hearing on electricity deregulation to demand to know why it costs more to fly from Los Angeles to Bismarck than from Los Angeles to Washington. If Washington really believed in free enterprise, it would auction off the right to land at the most crowded airports, like La Guardia and Reagan National in Washington. Right now, the airlines that have these slots get to keep them forever. Some carriers seem to be nothing more than slot assignments and a bunch of accountants, and some of the mergers seem to be less about acquiring airlines than acquiring the slots.
Economists think the current system is nuts.
But Congress is terrified that if the slots were put up for grabs, they would all go to planes flying between the biggest cities. The federal government could also free up a lot of flying room by underwriting high-speed rail service between New York and Washington. But that involves Amtrak subsidies, which fiscal conservatives hate. They feel the free market should support mass transportation - unless, of course, the free market doesn't feel like going to Bismarck today. Click here to read more of Congressman Jackson's Issues and Positions.