Word: gridlock
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...final approach to air gridlock. The relentless growth in air travel has far outstripped the capacity of U.S. airports--there's too much aluminum and not enough concrete. And the air-traffic-control system that went into service 60 years ago still resembles the original, right down to the inefficient positioning of radar beacons. Yet in the past five years, commercial air traffic has increased 27%, to 660 million passenger trips annually. In the next decade, that number is expected to reach 1 billion...
...critical aviation issues for years. To make up for the lack of leadership, the air-travel system could use a dictator. Someone not unlike the perpetually inflamed former Indiana basketball coach could be installed in a newly created post of FAA chief operating officer to break through the institutional gridlock--from the Environmental Protection Agency (which evaluates environmental impact) to the Department of Transportation (which approves new airlines and routes). The COO has to behave like an air czar. "Somebody needs to knock some heads," says Bob Francis, a former FAA official who was vice chairman of the National Transportation...
...lips move before you hear his words. The balls are deeply tedious. You stand around thinking, Gee, that other ball we decided not to go to has got to be a lot more fun than this one. And don't even think about going to more than one: gridlock and the Secret Service prevent that...
...Senate split is a recipe for either unparalleled bipartisan cooperation or two years of unprecedented gridlock - and while more cynical pundits might dismiss the former as a pipe dream, Senate Democratic leaders are taking up the cause of collaboration, especially on relatively middle-of-the-road causes like education and prescription drug benefits...
...panelists agreed that gridlock would consign such bold but risky plans as Bush's proposed $1.3 trillion tax cut to the campaign-promise trash heap. "There won't be any huge tax cuts or entitlement programs, whoever becomes President," says Bruce Steinberg, chief economist for Merrill Lynch. "That means the budget surpluses should remain extremely large, and the national debt will continue to be paid down--all of which is friendly to financial markets...