My head is spinning … it’s like watching a tennis match.  The most recent attacks on general aviation [and flying private jets, many of which are not really 'jets'] has me very confused.  First  we hear that private airplanes are not necessary.  Then we hear that in the stimulus bill, Congress is pushing a hefty tax incentive to purchase the same aircraft. 

In an article in the Orlando Sentinel states:

Faced with widespread unemployment, they [Congress] have decided to dial down the rhetoric and trade invective for incentive.

The fact is, corporate jets have always been nothing more than a tool for boosting efficiency — and lawmakers know it. After all, it’s not as if our representatives fly on scheduled airlines when they leave Washington to “inspect” this or that, or to “find facts” here and there. Instead, they fly on the government equivalent of “private” planes provided by the Air Force at taxpayer expense.

Regular entrepreneurs, those that have built a solid sound business from the ground up, are entitled to own an aircraft if they can afford it.  Who is Congress to put limits on what we, the Amerian People, can and cannot buy? 

I understand that the time of our elected official is valuable …. so is my time.  And so is the time of our executives.  Why should we limit their use of productive business tools … provided they can afford it.

Watch this video for more specifics on how this business aviation affects our economy.

It isn’t what they said, it’s what we think we heard.