Airline Safety and Regulations - Colgan Air Retrospective

Political Science
1

Bloomberg has a great article on the Colgan Air crash which killed 50 people, the ensuing safety regulations, and the following unprecedented decade without a single domestic passenger death in the US.

The article does not push a political angle at all, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that these safety rules were in logjam for 10 years prior to 2009, and only passed after Dems had complete control of government. Further illustrating this is the fact that this wasn’t even the worst crash in the 10 years before.

We often hear complaints about what Obama and the Dems achieved, but there are many many smaller rule changes and regulations (many of which were implemented under the ACA) that were achieved during the Obama tenure, that have made Americans significantly safer, more prosperous, and have better lives than they would have otherwise that are almost completely ignored.

Setting aside the headline differences between Dems and Republicans, it’s these small improvements that really differentiate the 2, IMO, because they lead to lasting change that have immeasurable benefits that are sustained because they become part of the fabric of life.

2

Except when they get rolled back, like is happening now across the government in all kinds of big and small ways that will take years to be recognized and repaired (if that ever happens.)

3

Its not a coincidence and I fear the largest damage the Trump administration will do will be on this quiet front. For example, the Muslim ban, Wall and child separation policy are overshadowing the major changes the administration are making in legal immigration (e.g. TPS, asylum claims, ICE detentions, immigration courts, etc).

Long after the major Trump maladminstrations have been reversed, we’ll likely still be living with these smaller ones.