Even after strong profits, Southwest Airlines’ performance in the recent storms shows the flaws in our form of capitalism.
Southwest Airlines
While no company can control the weather, the climate is one of the factors an airline must take into account. They must have mitigating procedures for said disruptions. Southwest has a failed model. But the model failed because of its financial irresponsibility.
We are indoctrinated in the belief that the private sector always gets it right and government always gets it wrong. This is a fallacy that has been debunked in healthcare where worldwide government-driven single-payer or heavily regulated healthcare has proven to provide longer lifespans, better outcomes, and less stressful life. Where there is a profit motive for essential services or products, profits are nothing more than an expense. It is a mathematical impossibility for them to be more efficient.
The Southwest fiasco is probative. Many Americans lost their Christmas. Some lost their last chance to see relatives that are unlikely to be with us another year. That is not something that can be recovered. Now pilots are talking about going on strike.
We must not fear a bifurcated economy that would reduce the shock caused by the solely-profit-minded psycopaths that run most of our corporations. Products and services essential to life and basic living belong either in a heavily regulated environment or with we-the-people, government. A vibrant private sector can coexist in a more competitive environment if competition was not coerced by necessity.
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