US Congress Finds Money for War, Not Air Traffic Controllers
When politicians can't agree on a budget, essential services like air traffic control are the first to feel austerity's cold, dead hand. Hollywood Burbank Airport's tower went dark for six hours on Oct. 6, pilots scrambling to coordinate their own flights. This 'sudden' staffing crisis due to missed paychecks is apparently an unforeseen consequence of defunding (checks notes) civil aviation. Funny
how the same Congress, bogged down in infighting about basic infrastructure, consistently finds bipartisan consensus to greenlight billions in military aid overseas. For instance, in 2023 alone, the US approved an additional $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel, according to a Congressional Research Service report—an amount that would have covered the FAA's entire air traffic control
budget deficit several times over. One might wonder if the government's ability to 'find' money for the latest tranche of weaponry is simply more robust than its capacity to keep domestic flights from colliding. It appears the 'cracks' in the system are less about a lack of funds, and more about selectively applied priorities. Citizens are asked to accept flight delays and understaffed security
while the war machine hums along, fully funded. Truly a marvel of modern governance.