Friend – Five years ago, in the wake of the second catastrophic air
disaster in less than six months, the Boeing 737 Max was grounded
worldwide.
It wasn’t the
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration – the global standard bearer for
aviation safety – that ordered the newest Boeing plane to
ground.
In fact, the FAA
initially refused to ground
the plane, stating there was “no reason” to justify that order after
346 people died in nearly identical crashes.
Our federal regulators only buckled under
pressure after more than 60 countries + the European Union grounded
the plane.
A massive
investigation followed, and Boeing agreed to pay a $2.5 billion
settlement in exchange for not pleading guilty to any charges related
to the deadly crashes.
It’s worth noting that the settlement, hailed at the time as a
“historic victory” for transportation safety, comes to only 2% of
their profits from the last decade plus.
It’s also worth noting that paying that puny
fine did nothing to dissuade Boeing from continuing to cut corners on
passenger safety.
Fast forward to today: the
number of serious safety incidents with Boeing is
accelerating.
In
January, a door plug blew off of a Boeing plane moments into the
flight.
In March, a
WHEEL fell off a Boeing plane during take-off.
A few weeks ago, another Boeing 737 skimmed
just 500
feet over an Oklahoma
suburb when the plane malfunctioned on approach to the
runway.
These are just a
fraction of the known Boeing incidents this year.
The evidence against Boeing for unfettered corporate malfeasance
is so overwhelming that the company is now facing criminal
prosecution.
There is indeed a reckoning coming
for the world’s largest aerospace company, but that reckoning must
also include the unconscionable lapses in regulatory oversight brought
on by corporate capture in our government.
Last year Boeing spent nearly $15 million lobbying elected
officials, and as many as 72% of those lobbyists formally held
government positions.
Lawmakers in Congress with direct oversight responsibilities are
effectively on Boeing’s payroll, accepting tens if not hundreds of
thousands of dollars in campaign cash to unwind
regulations.
The problem
is so obvious and egregious that one Congressional investigation
determined FAA regulations had become “limp and malleable” while
“Boeing — not the FAA — was comfortably piloting its own regulatory
fate.”
This is the
perfect illustration of how corporate capture of our government
regulatory bodies harms the public.
The
FAA answers to the President, and you deserve a president who will put
public safety ahead of corporate profits every time. Ours is the only
pro-worker, pro-humanity, pro-peace and pro-planet campaign that will
be on the ballot across the country this November. Can I count on your
support to get our movement in front of every
voter? |
