Oh good grief. When was the last time you flew on a commercial
airline? Folks who fly in First Class board the plane first, sit in
much more comfortable seats, eat better meals, enjoy free drinks, have
their coats hung up during the flight, exit first, and have their
luggage prioritized for delivery on the carousel.
This is a minor perk by comparison. You pay a fee, and you reveal
some biographical and biological information. Then the TSA knows who
you are, and they waste less time screening you, freeing their scarce
resources for screening folks they know less about.
Look, I fly about a dozen times a year, and it's not worth it for me
to pay the price to join the pre-screened club. My best friend flies
200 times a year, and it is probably worth it for him to pay the fee
and the price in lost liberty. We each make our choices. He'd pay
the fee, to save 100 or more hours of his time, valued at $100 to $200
per hour. My hourly value is less than his. :-)
To be shocked, shocked that people who pay more get better treatment
is, well, silly. Should we abolish First Class on airlines? On
cruise ships? The airline clubs at airports worldwide? The best seats
at Lincoln Center?
This is a tempest in a teapot.
/rich
On 9/29/05, David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Begin forwarded message:
From: Joyce <jmmurphy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 29, 2005 12:53:34 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] more on frequent fliers
"Catering to an elite" is a social/political development that has
been rapidly expanding throughout our culture. Don't want to stand in
line with the general public? Buy special tickets that allow you to
go to the front of the line. Have no time to wait on a physician? Pay
a "retainer" and go to a concierge doctor who will be available 24/7.
Buy your own security to keep you safe. Send your kids to private
school. Go the the VIP lounge in clubs. Shop and play after hours.
Heck, buy your own island. Your very own kingdom.
As our country becomes more stratified and as wealth and resources
become more concentrated in the hands of an elite, these special
people expect not to have to put up with the inconveniences the rest
of us see as part of our daily life. They truly become privileged and
live in a totally separate world.
One part of me says they should go for it. What is the use of wealth
and power if you cannot buy with it the luxuries that make your life
easier? The other part of me says, "Wait a minute. When the people
who have influence don't have to put up with the mess the other 98
percent of us put up with, they don't become involved in solving the
problem."
This is supposed to be a republic. We are all supposed to be in this
together. I'm not naive. I know that there have always been
privileged people. I just hate to see it institutionalized in so many
ways and at an increasing pace. It is en the end dysfunctional and
creates more problems.
Joyce Murphy
. . . just an interested person
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