Technology

They retired. Boeing hasn't built a new plane in a very long time. Part of it is management, and part is regulatory issues. Yes management has consistently forced out people with knowledge, and replaced them with less experienced people. That happens in every industry, it's not always catastrophic.

The real problem is due to the regulatory environment. Yes those rules are important, but they've also effectively banned new aircraft from being built. There are now generations of engineers that are experienced in making a new aircraft look like a small tweak to an existing one. The perverse incentives created by the regulations changed Boeing from a company that built aircraft, to a company that just games regulation. A similar thing happened to the auto industry to a lesser extent.

This story, like most corporate stories these days, frustrates me.

This is a tale as old as time...the time when American corporations went to shit as our elected officials ensured there was no liability and realistic legal consequences to executes or MBA decision making.

I'm not a business scholar obviously. I've always been led to believe that in order for the world to turn and air to be breathable, corporations and businesses need liability protection for those who run it. Why?

If I kill someone with my car, even if it was completely an accident, I'm still liable right? Should I account for the death of that person, child, etc?

How would things not be better if, instead of the bottom line and stock price being the ultimate concern of CEOs, it was them not going to court to face charges because they allowed their company to kill people with its negligence? I know there's some nuance here, but ultimately, I feel like everything sucks because there's no incentive to care about anything but investors and greed.

If industry, aerospace or other, was run by people who cared about not killing people and going to jail, would they in turn ensure their design and production met the quality and ambition of the type of people here, discussing their accounts of cutting corners or experienced personnel just to save money?

Great read