Unpaid Air Traffic Controllers Threatened While Congress Debates Yacht Tax Cuts
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warns air traffic controllers—the very people preventing mid-air collisions—they'll be fired for 'protesting' by not showing up when they aren't getting paid. (Apparently, 'protest' is now synonymous with 'not working for free'). This blatant indifference to essential workers comes as Congress routinely debates multi-billion dollar aid packages to foreign
nations, like the $14 billion in supplementary aid to Israel approved by a House vote after significant lobbying from groups like AIPAC. These are the same lawmakers who often receive substantial campaign donations from special interest groups (see OpenSecrets.org for specifics on PAC donations) while simultaneously failing to fund their own civil service. It begs the question: How many
'essential' domestic jobs have to be jeopardized before Congress prioritizes its own citizens over perennial foreign aid and a revolving door of lobbyists? The message to those ensuring daily air safety, it seems, is 'your service is critical, your livelihood is not.'