—–Original Message—–
From: R
Sent: Sun 7/30/2017 8:53 AM
To: walter block
Subject: Incredible shrinking airline seat

Dear Dr. Block, Thank you for being a tireless defender of freedom and Austrian economics. You are worthy of the admiration of all of us, who benefit so much from your amazing production. Yesterday I read this article on RT that blames the airlines for shrinking the size of the seats in coach:

https://www.rt.com/usa/397973-incredible-shrinking-airline-seat-case/

Unsurprisingly, the dull socialists in the comments bash the free-market. However, every time there is some kind of “market failure” I smell a rat: there is always some evil, hidden government intervention that is really responsible for it. This may also happen with the complicity of cronies, of course. Do you have any insight about this? Many thanks! Sincerely, R

Dear R: You are entirely correct. There are several “rats” in this case. One, unionism. The salaries of pilots and stewardesses (if I have offended anyone by saying this, e.g., committed a micro-aggression, I sincerely apologize ()) are higher than would be the case under free enterprise. Two, the airports are not privately owned. Three, competition from foreign airlines is not allowed for domestic flights. If these three “rats” were eliminated, seats would be larger, and/or cheaper, or both.

The Best of Walter E. Block