Andy's Blog

Recently I bought a pair of blue jeans. The cost - $16.50. Sure they aren't designer blue jeans, but nonetheless, they look good when I wear them. What strikes me is that they only cost $16.50; clearly less than the $25.00 jeans I bought from "Sons of Britches" in 1975.

I attribute this directly to competition, which keeps costs down, drives innovation and makes our lives better. It is the American way and I fully embrace it. The Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors embraces it too. They unanimously endorsed it as a one of our key values. Private enterprise, then, ought to do as much as possible leaving government to do only the things that private enterprise cannot.

Aside from knowing a bit about how I think or what the Chamber values, we, as a community, have an opportunity to foster a little competition. Currently, and for all practical matters, only Delta Airlines serves Duluth. While Delta is a great carrier, wouldn't it be great to have some competition that might make our fares go down and our service go up?

Duluth's Airport Director, Brian Ryks, is seeking a Small Community Air Service Development Program grant for $600,000. The grant, if obtained, will help enhance air service in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin. Essentially it will allow travelers an ability to fly directly to Chicago. By doing so, competition will drive down prices and allow business and leisure travelers more options.

You can help make this happen. Attached is a sample letter that you could fill out and send along showing your support. The process is easy. Simply download this attachment, fill it out and email it, in PDF format, to the following email addresses: jack@sixelconsulting.com and bryks@duluthairport.com. Brian Ryks will handle it from there. It only takes a few moments. The deadline to send your letter is: Friday August 21, 2009.

This is the best kind of stimulus program. The grant is limited in length and will help private business compete. At the end of the day, we all benefit. Wouldn't it be great to have lower fares and better service?Now if I could only fit in the same size jeans that I wore in 1975 - and by the way, those jeans were waist size 24. Oh my.