Tag Archives for cronyism.
Every business can do this, cloak their self-interested lobbying in the mantle of benefit for a broader public good. Indeed, most businesses who seek to profit by political rather than economic means do this today. It’s just exceptionally common in the airline industry, where government corruption has run rife on consumer interests for a hundred years.
De Blasio is proposing to eliminate the ability for new hotels to be built ‘by right’ as long as they conform to zoning laws, and instead require a special permit in “a process that would effectively grant the local City Council member veto power over any new hotel room.”
The largest hotel owners in the city say “they’ll rest easier if the city severely restricts the construction of competing accommodations.”
In the grand tradition of regulators protecting the profits of large businesses at the expense of consumers, a member of of Germany’s governing coalition wants to set legal minimum prices for airline tickets.
This comes after Lufthansa’s CEO called Ryanair’s low fares “economically, ecologically, and politically irresponsible” and sought government protection in the form of a ban on low fares.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
