3 ms·
The decline in quality of out Boeing has coincided with a collapse of the regulatory framework that kept profit extraction limited since the 70's and 80's. Now
by leshow 2y ago
The decline in quality of out Boeing has coincided with a collapse of the regulatory framework that kept profit extraction limited since the 70's and 80's. Now you've got the worst of both worlds, where the industry is protected and subsidized, production gets off-shored and outsourced anyway while massive profits flow into shareholders pockets in the form of stock buybacks. It's funny that you look at this and blame the protectionist aspect when "protectionism" literally built the industry in the first place.
Every country who isn't just getting exploited for their natural resources or labor has built their industry by protecting it.
- daveguy 2y agoWhen did the regulatory framework collapse? 90s? Was there a specific bill?
- leshow 2y agoTake a person with a full head of hair and remove one hair, are they bald? Remove another one, bald? Clearly not, but if you keep removing hairs at some point you have a head we consider bald. Deregulation has been working like that. It's hard to point to one discrete event. In any case, the process really got going under Jimmy Carter. If we're talking about airlines, I guess you could point to the Airline Deregulation Act. The airline industry had been built in the first place by what people in this thread would call "protectionist" policies. Stock buybacks are a big part of the story as well. These were illegal market manipulation I think from the Great Depression until the 80's under Reagan.