Limiting line skipping is silly

The idea, apparently, is fairness. To me, it’s nonsense.

First of all, if there is a cap on such services, where do you think all those people will go? Will they disappear? No. They will go back in line with the rest of us, making the line we are in even longer. The regular line moves faster because of the special line.

Second, I’m sure the service is a revenue generator for the airports, that would then have to find other sources of revenue like, I don’t know, raising the price of a can of coke at the concession to $6 from $5.

Third, what’s next? Getting rid of first class or preferred boarding? People pay extra to get on the plane first right now. Why stop at one line at the airport?

Fourth, has the senator ever seen an express lane? Every day, on the Peninsula, for example, there are those who are skipping the line (traffic) for a price. What about paying more to skip lines at amusement parks? Or luxury boxes at sporting events or concerts? And what about the folks who may pay $500,000 to be lifted by a balloon into the stratosphere and eat a gourmet meal? I get that these are private businesses, save the express lanes, but the idea of the affluent being able to pay for convenience is nothing new and certainly hasn’t caught the eye of any legislator I’ve encountered.

A better option than this inane piece of legislation is finding ways to make the current Transportation Security Administration lines move better like hiring more agents or providing more training. Or perhaps the airports themselves can adopt the methods of some of these private companies to allow those willing to save themselves the trouble.

But limiting the ability of some to skip a line is not worth the paper this bill is written on, unless the senator wants to take on any number of societal ills encountered by those of less means.

I’ll wait. For a response that is.

***

Wanting to see for ourselves the wonders of the northern lights, we found ourselves up at the College of San Mateo Friday night in the parking lot in front of the planetarium, where the farmers’ market is on Saturdays.

In the left corner over the ocean we saw a bright orange crescent until it disappeared with the rotation of the Earth, then our gaze traveled to the area between San Francisco and the coast, if that makes sense, where we could see with our naked eye a slight orange haze to the darkened night sky.

A small crowd was already there, and people were helping others figure out how to see it on their phones as their newer cameras are more sensitive to light than our own eyes. Our phones were too old to see it even though our closet held a new iPhone 15 wrapped for Mother’s Day, but that was going to be too late. I got the idea of taking a photo of someone else’s photo, figuring that was good enough for memory’s sake.

It was a neat experience, made better by the shared nature of it, and the willingness of others to help one another out. There seems to have been more attention on celestial happenings in recent years, and, overall, that’s a good thing because it builds awareness of our small part in the larger universe and draws people together.

And now that the iPhone is out of the box, we are ready for the next one, with scientists suggesting further activity for the next year or two.

***

Seeing the governor’s budget maneuvers, including delaying the state payroll from June 30 to July 1 to credit it to the next budget year, along with funding a $8.8 billion gap in Proposition 98 funding by borrowing from future revenue, reminds me of the smoke and mirrors of the Davis and Schwarzenegger administrations that took years to unwind — in Schwarzenegger’s later years and in the tenure of Jerry Brown — with some pretty tough budget calls we still feel today.

Newsom can put some interesting language in front of the maneuvers and try to tell us it’s fine, but it’s still a damn mess and will likely get worse.

Jon Mays is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on X @jonmays.