Airlines’ money should stay in U.S.

As a Washington resident with many ties to Boeing through both friends and family, I take President Bush’s offer to fund the bailout of the airline with mixed emotions. While I commend the offer to provide aid, it leaves a larger question: What about all those companies that don’t share the same level of exposure as the airline industry?

What about all the small business owners that have also been impacted by the terrorist attacks and the national grounding of air traffic? What kind of assistance is being offered to the individuals and businesses like those at Harvey Field or thousands of other airports across the country? What makes one industry more worthy of our tax dollars than another?

While I understand the desire to assist the airline industry and those associated with it, I firmly believe that there needs to be more consideration given to what conditions must be met by those receiving our assistance. I feel that if we are to bail out the airline industry with U.S. tax dollars, then we should also benefit Boeing by specifying that those dollars be spent on American products and services. That means that the airlines shouldn’t be using our taxes to purchase Airbus airplanes. If they are buying, they better be buying Boeing. In doing so, we may not only assist the airline industry, but Boeing, as well as all the other companies associated with them.

Snohomish