Magnetic Levitation.

Hyperbole Alert!

Reading the following requires an open mind. It won’t be easy, but once you see the numerous benefits of the elimination of commercial air travel in the U.S., it’s a “no brainer”.

Let’s briefly look at the impact that commercial flight has on our nation and the world.

Why do people avoid living near the airports? Answer: Air and noise pollution. Speaking from my personal experience as a 7 year airport employee, the perimeter landscape of the airport’s property was, in fact, every bit as scenic, (think green) as any wooded countryside, not just in the U.S., but on the planet.

By eliminating the need for these behemoths of aggravation, property values in the previously empty land and real estate values skyrocket! Jobs are created with a boom in home construction and small businesses to serve millions of families new to what currently is predominately unused, and in many cases, scenic land.

This is where this spoof article stops and real information takes over. My solution, to be implemented immediately following my unanimous selection as King of the U.S.A., follows:

While searching for reasonable alternatives to flying, I ran across Magnetic Levitation, or “maglev” technology! Like me, most everyone has heard of high-speed trains by now. 20 countries currently use them but only 3, China, Japan, and South Korea are using “maglev”

As of June 26, 2023, the Shanghai Maglev is the world’s fastest commercial high-speed train, with a top speed of 460 kilometers per hour (286 miles per hour). 

Using the Maglev to get to the “big city” of Chicago from my home town of Milwaukee would take 18.6 minutes.

King Bob’s Maglev depots in the U.S. will have no, none, zero privately owned automobile parking accommodations which would bring about real jobs for taxi and shuttle bus drivers; jobs with benefits of having no humans talking to you as you drive to your next customer pick-up. Just for a minute, compare that job scenario to handing bags of heart attack food out the window at the ubiquitous mc-something crap food restaurant (?).

As of April 2024, there are six commercial maglev trains in operation around the world, with one in Japan, two in South Korea, and three in China. Isn’t it interesting that 2 democracies and one dictatorship figured out that the solution to air pollution is stay on the ground!

My original intent in writing this article was to mostly rant about the living hell that is commercial flight. I stumbled across “maglev” about one hour ago in my initial research.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. handles an average of 45,000 flights per day, which is about 16 million flights per year. The U.S. domestic aviation market is the largest in the world, with more than one in five flights in the world taking place domestically. 

We have experience with eliminating all commercial air traffic in the U.S. Tragically though, it was 9/12 and 9/13 after the twin towers were attacked.  Pilots and meteorologists described the cloudless skies as “severe clear”. One Connecticut native remembers how bright blue the sky was. A rookie F-16 pilot told ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis, “I remember how crystal blue the skies were.” 

Maglev will not be coming to your home town in your lifetime. Political corruption and its close associate; apathy, will ensure that.