Aero-News: Quote of the Day

ANN's Quote of the Day usually derives from current news, though we reserve the right to pick quotes out of history that have a bearing on the day's events and issues.

Sometimes, you'll find them timely and in keeping with the content of the day's news... and sometimes, they'll just be thought-provoking.

Reader suggestions and comments are welcome... and if particularly intriguing, timely, or poignant, may themselves become future Quotes of the Day.

Let us hear from you, folks!

Aero-News Quote of the Day

"If you look over the history of the fund, about 46-percent of operations has been funded from the general fund. In the current projections, which is the basis for the rhetoric that [the trust] can't meet the needs, it's capped at 13-percent. So basically, if you use your money for something you didn't used to use it for, yeah, you'll spend more."

Source: NATCA Executive Vice President Ruth Marlin, telling ANN that the Aviation Trust Fund may not be in as much trouble as the FAA would have us believe. She recently conducted an exhaustive study of the fund and concludes the entire crisis -- which could lead to the imposition of user fees for general and business aviation -- appears to have been manufactured by the Bush administration as a step toward privatizing the nation's air traffic system.

FMI: www.natca.org, www.faa.gov