European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 6, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Paga 10 the stars and stripes sunday september 6,1987 George f. Will Money hoarded rather than spent on air safety to the accusation that they report Only bad news journalists reply we can t be expected to report planes thai land safely. But when a crash crystallizes anxiety about air safely journalism should stress the news yes news that flying is astonishingly Safe. Travel on . Commercial airlines is the safest form of transportation Ever devised. Considering the hazards to pedestrians though the Ages prehistoric tigers medieval brigands and today s muggers it is much safer than walking. And it has been becoming safer the fatality rate per flying hour in 1986 was about half what it was in 1978. That drop coincided with deregulation which dropped fares and democratized in travel. In 1966, Only 10 percent of the Popula Tion had Ever Down. Last year atone 31 percent of the adult population flew. In 1978, 275 million flew. This year. 450 million will. The irrational fear of Hying involves a mistaken apprehension of midair collision particularly with Small private planes that Are 98 percent of All aircraft their operator constitute an upscale and ferocious lobby in defense of the Sovereign american right to be Mobile they Are not Apt to be grounded. But they too have a remarkable safety record. Still As a safety expert says it is possible to skate successfully on thin ice but is better to stale on thick ice. Increased vigilance and pending Are in order. The Post deregulation proliferation and then Merg ing of airlines today nine carriers have 90 percent of the passengers at 15 major airports one Carrier has at least 90 percent or two have at least to percent of the business has caused financial and morale problems that Are producing maintenance and operational prob lems today safety is being purchased by sacrificing serv ice. Delays Are inevitable because of the rising ratio of Metal to Tarmac the number of planes is increasing much More rapidly than Airport facilities. Everyone wants More airports no one wants one next door. American government is a thickening web of blocking mechanisms and americans Are increasingly skillful and aggressive in using those mechanisms principally courts to stymie action. Los Angeles Chicago Miami and other cities need new airports but there probably Wilt be no major Airport Brijl in the foreseeable future. The problem is not Money. There is a $5.6 billion surplus in inc aviation Trust fund your tax dollars not at work the Money is put there by users of the air system principally travellers who pay an it percent excise tax on tickets. The politics of deficit reduction causes the administration and Congress to Hoard the Trust fund to avoid adding a drop to the bucket of red Ink this is preposterous parsimony in an air system William f. Buckley make the ground safer Short of controllers and the remarkable technology for Early warning of wind shears the cause of three crashes that have killed 404 people since 1975. If another such crash occurs because available technology wan nol Pur chased there will be blood on the hands of All those who have made cheese paring conservatism the Doc Trine of this decade. Unsound policies and posturing As a substitute for policy flourish when the Public has irrational risk perceptions. Journalism often manufactures these. Facts about aids filter slowly through the fog of Media driven alarm facts such As reports from the centers for disease control that there is no evidence thai aids will reach epidemic proportions among heterosexuals other than intravenous drug abusers. Be cause Highway and handgun carnage is constant and spread across the continent the carnage is not As Tele Genic or newsworthy As rare air tragedies. But journalism should do Justice to the fact that last year the average daily death rate from automobile Acci dents was 126, the average sunday toll was probably higher than the 156 killed in the Detroit air crash last month any politician inflaming Public anxiety by de claiming about inc crisis in air safety should be asked How he voted on increasing from 55 to 65 Miles per hour the Speed limit on Rural interstate highways. That change wit have the predictable result of producing far More fatalities each year than will result from air plane mishaps. Suicide and homicide together Are after Accident and cancer and heart disease inc fourth Lead ing cause of american deaths. Guns were involved in 61 percent approximately 12,000 of last year s 19,796 homicides. That one year Tola of gun a called homicides is nearly double the number of fatalities from All accidents in he history of . Commercial aviation. Lawmakers who will not control handguns should not Fly around making speeches about air safely. Rom Hagian pm win of Dud it is voters9 right to decide what Laws Are humane the state of Minnesota passed a Law some Lime ago specifying thai in order to have an abortion a Girt under is needed to bring to the doctor written consent of both her parents. Now i happen to believe that that Law is not a Good Law for a reason easily specifiable. But then i did t agree with the state of Minnesota in 1984 about who ought to be president. I voted for Ronald Reagan and the majority in Minnesota voted for Walter Mondale it never occurred to me to invite judicial review of the nol so Bright presidential Choice of the voters of Minnesota. There now. 1 have Laid All my cards on the table. A week ago a Federal appellate court struck Down the Minnesota Law. Now Lis ten to How the new York times editorialists handled the question. They begin by complimenting the court of appeals saying its vote proves the humanity of the appellate court a question who says a court of appeals should be humane answer no body partly because nobody is quite cer Tain what it is to be humane. Is it humane to punish your child is it humane to divorce your wife is in humane to have a $100,000 House when there Are those who have no houses it is up to the citizens of Minnesota 10 decide what social arrangements they deem humane. The new York times proceeds to Tell us what we More or less knew namely one half of american marriages end in divorce and the result of that divorce Rale is 42 percent of american children grow up in one Parent Homes. We Are told that most pregnant girls do consult their parents before going to an abortionist but some do not Ana to require that they do so when one of the parents the father usually May be a stranger or May nol even be reachable is wrong. And the conclusion in Short because the la often does More harm than Good the Federal court rules it fails to further the slate s As sorted interests and is therefore unconstitutional " in j973, in Roe is Wade the supreme court found itself talking about meaning Ful the idea was that it is of to de stroy a fetus inasmuch Asil is not a meaningful a substantial number of american lawyers moralists and just Plain folks wondered whether a seed had been planted that might result in a tribunal of sons deciding some Lime in inc future that grandmother was no longer leading a meaningful life and could therefore be Pul away. Or for that matter Little 6-Monlh old Susan who can hardly be said to be living a meaningful human life since All she does is eat porridge play with her doll and void into her diapers and now we have a court ruling thai a Taw is unconstitutional because it tails to further the state s assorted Well the assorted interests of a stale Are a difficult for anyone to define and b Fier cely resistant la constitutional cookie Cut Ting. The new York time tells us the evidence show s that compelling a preg Nant icon Ager to confide in parents she docs i Trust does t strengthen the s More Apt to Sunder it. Now 1 happen to think this � Correct. My own View is that a single Van Alurac from whatever Parent the Girt is living with should suffice it is the place of the new York times and of pundits Here and there to Pas judgment on what we think Good and what bad about Minne Sota Laws. But it is neither their place nor that of Federal courts to Lell the Voien of Minnesota that they Are nol intelligently furthering their stale s assorted interests or thai they Are sundering rather than Seeling family arrangements. It could be argued thai Laws prohibit ing minors from buying Beer Are Hin Dering to family arrangements boys and girls of 18 to 20 flock across the Borders to Stales with friendlier liquor Law does that empower the Federal couns to de Clare such Laws you begin to see Why there is � much apprehension about Bork. About Boris it really. Became Bor Kilm holds Toul Ibe Constitution vested legislative Power in the Congress. The stale Ormin Esou is free to do thai Cvar in like us Long As it docs not violate the Bill of Kier a or decide on a non Republican form . But is it Republican government when a Federal appellate court decides which Laws Minnesota May have and Ortii a Are Jusi to be set aside because they do not fulfil Minnesota s assorted interests
