Trump/Musk et al. are the proverbial “bull in the china shop,” walking through, looking at each other wondering what that crashing noise was behind them, and shrugging their shoulders…
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Topi, in contrast to many other comments, yours is one of the most rational and constructive contributions to this discussion. Thanks.
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Topi your narrative is spot on, and I also would mention that even with our not-so-modern equipment in use today the ATC system, its people and methods, far outclass the rest of the world’s pretty electronic video game displays and attempts at using AI to separate aircraft and manage delays. We are decades away from a synthetic brain that can do what the human mind can accomplish in a microsecond. Without a steady pipeline of new talent to fill the void left when experience wanes as a result of retirements, the entire system will decay to a standard that is unacceptable. Firing probationary employees cuts that pipeline.
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So I guess you’d call the politicians before them Blind Cows - since they had decades to fix things and reduce bloated spending - but never did. He’s doing what he promised and I’m damn glad - as are millions of others that voted for him. Sad realization for you that you are in the minority on this one.
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Are you aware that no controllers were laid off? Accordingly, the controller pipeline - which Biden’s DEI practices starved - is not impacted by the layoffs.
It’s my understanding that no controllers were laid off. Accordingly, the controller pipeline - which the previous Admin’s hiring practices restricted - is not impacted by the layoffs.
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I thought the project was supposed to be about reducing fraud and waste. Did the DOGE actually identify any particular waste or fraud? Sounds like a no. They just randomly fired the people they could most easily fire without any actual analysis, at least none that anyone knows about.
People, we in the US have the best and safest national airspace on the damn planet. FAA doesn’t get all the credit for that, and surely there is room for improvement. But the chainsaw crowd runs a very real and serious risk of killing the goose…
This is not reform. It’s more a case of uninformed change for the sake of change alone. Prove me wrong and explain why specific positions were eliminated and how they plan to improve the safety of the national airspace. I’ll be waiting.
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It is also about reducing bloated costs. Some folks don’t seem to realize that unless the cost of government is greatly reduced, we’re not that many years away from hyper inflation and economic collapse - when the interest on the Federal debt eats up an ever larger portion of tax revenue. It’s already eating up about 20%. Small reductions here and there will (and must) add up or our grandkids are doomed to pay a terrible price.
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Wow. How long did it take you to think up that line of meadow cakes. You think you know how this all works. It’s quite obvious you do not. The DOT, of which the FAA is a part, has as its main mission the safety and security of all who travel, no matter the mode, in the United States. The fact of the matter is the decades of democratic AND republican “cows” you speak of, including your buddy, (likely oblivious to it all back then) actually have a mandate to safety and to properly serve the flying public that the current set of “bulls” cannot truly comprehend, and the closely monitored moneys allocated to the FAA and other aviation related departments for years has not been wasted. In fact the moneys allocated to fund the FAA and its subsidiaries has continued to be less than what is needed to just maintain the system, let alone begin updating older, outdated safety equipment. As for the minority? On the contrary. I think if you read real reporting, real news, and learn/understand how the funds for each part of our airspace system are distributed and accounted for you will see that the overwhelming majority, of which I am a part of, do not appreciate the undermining of the pipeline of fresh talent coming into the system. Yes, he’s doing what he promised, and in the most haphazard fashion. We’ve been put on a slippery slope, and are very close to falling over the edge as the administration blindly waves around its proverbial machete. If this continues, our safety will continue to be compromised, and there will continue to be a lack of qualified applicants into the system, as they will look elsewhere due to uncertainty about continuing employment and pay/benefits.
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I see. So, you are willing to sacrifice my margins of safety in the name of your belief that economic collapse is imminent.
Find something to cut where you have carefully considered the matter, not just random people who are trying to keep me safe and mostly doing a good job.
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Your response to the nonsense being spread by whoever this “dbier” is is right on point. As for me and thousands of other retired controllers who dedicated 30 or more years to the flying public, we are appalled at what will eventually be, if left unchecked, a severely reduced margin of talent and safety in a system that is much more than just air traffic controllers. It’s such a complicated and complex system that 99% on the outside just don’t realize the workings of it all.
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Let me repeat - no controllers were fired. You should have been complaining to the last administration which reduced the controller pipeline by rejecting about 1,000 qualified applicants who did not help them meet their desired candidate profile. As a pilot I’m much more comfortable with the revised ATC hiring policy.
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No controllers were fired. The previous Administration prvented qualified controller candidates from being hired. Clearly changes need to be made and as a pilot I’m glad to see them starting.
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Of course anything you disagree with is “nonsense”. Got it. Please let us know if you were okay with the previous administration’s controller screening practices which kept about 1,000 qualified candidates out of the pipeline. Personally, I’d much rather have more controllers than mid/upper level FAA staffing - but won’t disparage you if you have a differing opinion.
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The aerospace crash of the 1970 lasted ~9 years… several generation’s worth of technical and mechanical and electrical talent simply left aerospace forever. You couldn’t buy a job in almost every company. I spent 3 dull-years in the Army waiting to the door to crack back-open… others did not.
So, lets try to calculate the gross crippling effect of wiping-out generations out a 1 or more major organizations of new hires-in-training… and older talent with a ton of organizational experience. will cripple so many organizations in the long-run, and embitter any potential new talent… in so many governmental organizations… and companies that support the the USG.
Musk has new-born companies… and have never been forced to down-size… by mafia horse-head-in-the-bed style tactics. BUT those are his brut-force tactics that appear superficially to work. So, It is apparent that one of [4] things are driving this arbitrary bloody-ax down sizing: (1) He/Trump/ MAGA simply cannot grasp the magnitude/complexity/contribution of these organizations and the necessity for continuity in a complex and diverse and giant population; (2) there is a mistaken belief that the pieces will shakeout OK in the end; and or AI will take over inscrutable work… which often has a-typical human factors or human physical involvement REQUIRED; or (3) this is a calculation to destroy stable institutions underpinning today’s society to be replaced by a few institutions solely and completely controlled by a ‘few’ who are indifferent to our US democratic structure and the unique/imperfect civilization it forges; or they simply believe that they the few fittest/strongest/wealthiest… are smarter in the long-run that the many of us together.
This new governance for most citizens will turn-out to be the greatest ‘Bait-and-Switch’ in history with exception o Germany in the 1920s and 1930s.
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government… except all the others that have been tried.” Winston Churchill
“Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick
“Destroying is far easier than rebuilding.” --me
“Democracy is a process, not a static condition. It is becoming rather than being. It can easily be lost, but never is fully won. Its essence is eternal struggle.” – William H. Hastie
“Democracy is a small hard core of common agreement, surrounded by a rich variety of individual differences.” – James Conant,
“The opposite of Love is NOT hate… it in indifference.” --Ellie Wiesel
“Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.” – Sydney J. Harris
“All progress requires change. But not all change is progress.” --John Wooden
“All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.” --Martin Luther King Jr.
“All progress is experimental.” – John Jay Chapman
I freed a thousand slaves: I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.” --Harriett Tubman
Well actually since I am still part of the equation it’s not my opinion, not something I agree or disagree with. It’s facts. Now as far as the screen, it is what it is. Controllers cannot just be indiscriminately hired. It doesn’t, never has, and never will, work that way. There are many factors that have to be addressed. And of those eventually hired, less than half will ever become controllers. The mental demands of the job are incredibly high, and most cannot even fathom. A lot of time, effort and money does get spent. But it is definitely not wasted. As a voice on the other end of the radio, I respect your position, and I do know you have a whole set of other stresses involved in your profession. I assume you’re a professional pilot. We are doing our damnedest to get every qualified candidate the opportunity to be hired, but again, the FAA doesn’t hire controllers. The change you speak of will help. We instruct with every piece of knowledge and experience we have regardless of a person’s background but about half will not be able to ever certify.
Appreciate the reply - and the many exellent controllers I interact with. Here’s an interesting, recent (last Fall?) mini-investigative journalism report that I and many of my peers found alarming - but not altogether surprising…
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The main stream media is scaring the public by telling them that the layoffs are air traffic controllers and conflating the layoffs with the DC accident. Authoritative aviation media sources must report the truth.
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The proof you seek can be seen and heard EVERYDAY from and in the cockpit. As a former Air Traffic Controller/instructor, Flight Standards Inspector, Supervisor and Manager, 30 years with the agency, the whole thing has been going off the cliff for years. First it was called “affirmative action” then it was reclaimed as “diversity” then, most recently, DEI. No matter what you call it, when government or any private sector organization hires predetermined percentages based strictly on race, gender and other non merit based criteria, you get what we’ve got- and it’s not what’s “good for our country.”
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Thanks for the video. Watched it. I noticed a few inaccuracies, but mostly good info. The modernization plan has been around forever. We’ve often hoped that the FAA would get the equipment and funding necessary to make the required improvements. But Congress always seemed to have thousands of little pet projects that each individual member wanted to push, resulting in ballooning overruns. The test issue left me shaking my head. THAT is one thing that has left us all wondering what is going on. Yes, all hiring should be merit based, as well as CPC certification. Just remember though the disabilities mentioned are disqualifications for actual ATC hiring. The FAA does more than just ATC.
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