Jim Hightower: Flying the Un-Friendly Skies

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via CommonDreams:



Published on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 by Creators Syndicate
Flying the Un-Friendly Skies

by Jim Hightower


It can be amusing to read the business section of newspapers, because corporate coverage tends to be carefully couched in phrases that either obfuscate what's really going on or are outright Orwellian.

For example, a recent New York Times article on rising airline fares and fees did a rhetorical tiptoe around the core issue. The fact is that practically all airlines have jacked up the price of flying — and in unison! In the real world, there's a word for this: collusion. But the Times put a positive glow on the phenomenon, attributing the industry-wide increases to "a remarkable discipline shown by the airlines."

Remarkable, indeed! And how have the high-flying giants been able to achieve such discipline? By deliberately shrinking competition — both through mergers that establish fewer and bigger giants and by agreeing to cut the number of flights that each one offers. No competition, no choice. Take it, or leave it.

This is monopolization in action. But that's such an unpleasant word (not to mention an illegal act), so the Times chose to go with a benign, industry-approved euphemism: consolidation. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/10/27-1