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Hidden Tax Increases on Airline Tickets Won’t Fly By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. W hy is it that poor people are always asked to pay more in America? Last year, I warned about the possibility that Congress might try to impose a new tax on air travelers. Well, it’s 2020 - and here we go again.

Even in the midst of a historic im peachment trial and potential military conflict abroad, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have managed to find time to dust off their plan to soak air travelers, in cluding working people who struggle everyday just to make ends meet.

Make no mistake about it: this is a tax hike, even though backers of this plan won’t call it a tax hike, for obvious reasons. And it’s one that hits relatively low-wage workers harder than it hits those who make a lot more money. And it hits those who routinely fly for business especially hard too. This week, Democratic leaders are expected to unveil their broad in frastructure agenda for the coming year - a plan that is sorely needed given our aging highways, railways and other transportation needs.

But here is what is galling: sources tell me that buried in the broad array of transportation initiatives is a proposal to raise the so-calledPassengerFacili ty Charge (PFC), a hidden fee on airline travelers that Congress enacted long ago to help pay for renovation projects at airports around the country. Most Americans have probably never heard of the PFC, now capped at about $4.50 per person for each leg of a flight. But working families across the country, including our read ers, may soon feel the impact if some members of Congress have their way. Here is how the fee works. Pas sengers are charged the fee at the ticket counter, allowing the airport that col lects it to keep it for local repairs and renovations. Current proposals in Con gress include one to nearly double the fee to $8.50 per person for each leg of a flight. Another possibility is eliminat ing the cap entirely, thereby allowing airports to charge whatever they like. If the fee is raised to $8.50, a family of four on a trip with a con necting flight would pay nearly $150 in this tax alone - a tax that is layered on top of the price of the ticket itself, a major reason people don’t notice it. Such a substantial increase could be the deciding factor between that fam ily takingamuch-deservedvacation or staying home.

While most people agree that it is in the public’s best interest to have safe and efficient airports that can ac commodate increased passenger travel, proponents of increasing the passenger fee have been a little misleading about the condition of the nation’s airports. In reality, airports are undergoing something of a revitalization, particu larly when compared to rail or highway travel. Passengers are traveling at re cord rates, airport revenues are at alltime highs, and infrastructure upgrades are booming across the nation.

Just take a look at the balance sheets of our nation’s airports. U. S. airports have over $16 Billion of un restricted cash and investments on hand, with $7 billion sitting in the aviation trust fund.And, inthe last de cade,more than $165 Billion in federal aid has been directed to airports for im provement projects at America’s largest 30 airports alone. Some of these projects have been completed. Others are currently un derway. And some have received approval to move forward in the coming months. For example, Los Angeles International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport are both un dergoing multi-billion-dollar upgrades. Smaller facilities like theLong Island MacArthur Airport and the Shawnee Regional Airportare also upgrading their terminals and runways. The bottom line, then, is that there is no substantive basis for a fee hike. And it makes even less sense politi cally.

With Election Day just months away, most lawmakers will likely make the safe calculation and reject any pro posed hike presented on the floor for a vote, lest they stir a voter backlash. Yet it should be worrisome that House Democratic leaders appear willing to put a fee hike on the table for consid eration.

It could be nothing more than a trial balloon released in an attempt to test whether rank-and-file lawmakers have the stomach for taking up such a measure in an election year. But even if it is just that, there’s still reason for concern, given that even unpopular ideas have a way of gaining sudden momentum in the topsy-turvy politics of Congress.

Air travel remains one of the most popular and necessary forms of trans portation because it is relatively safe and convenient. But it should not be come more expensive because a hidden tax that few people expected is added. Congress should not put air travel out of the reach of American families who are still trying to get out of pov erty. Thus, increasing taxes on airline tickets won’t fly for Black Americans and won’t fly for all others who believe in economic fairness and equality of opportunity.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is Pres ident and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) representing the Black Press of Amer ica. He can be reached at dr.bchavis@ nnpa.org.

Vol. 25, No 6 February 6, 2020

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HARLEM COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS CALENDAR HARLEM CALENDAR OF COMMUNITY EVENTS

Free Weekly Live Entertainment ● Harlem Shake (100 W. 124th St): Fri, 7-10pmOpen Mic with Live Musicians ● Mist Harlem (46 W. 116th St): Th starting at 8pm- Live Music; Fri, 10pm-2am- Live Jazz ● Lenox Sapphire (314 Lenox Ave): Th starting at 7-11pm- Live Jazz ● Chez Lucienne (308 Lenox Ave): Fri & Sat, 7-10pm- Live Blues ● Savanna Raes Harlem (2070 ACP Jr. Blvd): Fri, 9-11pm- : Live R&B and Soul ● Maison Harlem (341 Saint Nicholas Ave.): Sun 5-8pm, Live Jazz Vocalist Lady Leah ● Red Rooster (310 Malcolm X Blvd) Mon (Hip Hop); Tues (Live Blues); Thur-Sun (Live Jazz),starting at 7:30pm ● Patrick’s Place (2836 Frederick Douglass Blvd.) Th 6-10pm (Live Jazz with Caribbean Cuisine); Sun, 11am-4pm (Jazz and Sunday Brunch) ● El San Juan Restaurant (1429 5th Ave) Sun 11am-4pm (Sunday Brunch with DJ music) Now Until February 29 Carver Savings Bank presents Photos by Debi Jackson

Come out and join Carver Federal Savings Bank for a Black History Month showing of Photos by Debi Jackson ~ My Feet Travel. The photos will transport you to Thailand, France, Italy, Panama and of course New York. You will be inspired to travel as Debi takes you to Havana and you feel the effervescent essence of Cuba through the lens of her camera. 75 West 125th Street. February 6 6:30-8:30pm Housing Discrimination in the Jim Crow North and the Case for Reparations Join historians Beryl Satter, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Nathan Connolly in this discussion of the ways in which housing policy, over the course of the 20th and into the 21st century, created and re-created inequality. Schomburg Center. 515 Malcolm X Blvd. FREE. February 6 10:00pm Apollo Comedy Club The Apollo Comedy Club celebrates the Theater’s rich comedic roots. The Apollo Comedy Club features the best up and coming talent in comedy today. Featuring Rob Love, Coby Jackk and Comedian Stiletto. 253 West 125th Street. Tickets starting at $22. February 8 11:00-12:00pm Power Portraits What does power mean to you? Explore this question as you make a mosaic using colorful materials. Inspired by the artist Mickalene Thomas consider composition, shapes, and colors! Parents, caregivers, and organizations servicing little ones under 5 years old are invited to the NYPL Harlem Library to enjoy art-making and other activities that encourage creative time and bonding. 9 W 124th Street. FREE. Michela Marino Lerman (Feb 10)

February 8 9:00-3:30pm Love Your Body Fitness Marathon

Join Pelham Fritz for a day of fitness, fun, and cardio! Take your favorite class or try a new one - they have something for everyone with five hours of various fitness classes to choose from. Bring a friend and some water, and get ready to get fit! Pelham Fritz Recreation Center. 18 Mount Morris Park West. FREE. I Love Myself (Feb 11)

February 8 9:00pm Apollo Music Cafe: Rue Brown

Mix a bit of sugar with cinnamon and spice and just the right amount of sass and you’ve conjured Rue Brown for an unforgettable night of music. Known for her engaging stage presence and soul-baring songs, Rue delivers a blend of jazz, hip hop and soul. 253 West 125th Street. Tickets starting at $22.

February 8 12:00-4:00pm Power of SouSou: Journey into the Blackverse

Families, fans, and cosplay community members come celebrate the fantastic worlds of the Black comic universe with The Color of Power: Heroes, Sheroes, & Their Creators exhibition. Power up your inner and outer superhero, or supershero! CCCADI 120 E 125th Street. FREE.

Lives Matter Teen Conference (BLMTC) centers young people and engages them as key leaders and influencers within their communities. The BLMTC convenes young people (ages 11-18) from across New York City and the Tri-State area to celebrate and affirm their voices, build community, and provide today and tomorrow’s leaders with the tools and knowledge to responsibly make the world a better place. 515 Malcolm X Blvd. FREE with RSVP.

February 9-15 9:00-4:00pm Open House Week at Pelham Fritz Recreation Center

Enjoy FREE fitness classes and activities at the Manhattan recreation centers during our Open House Week. Attendees must wear exercise clothing, bring a lock, and sign a waiver to participate. 18 Mount Morris Park.

February 9 2:00-5:00pm Intergenerational Jazz Jam

Jazz Power Initiative’s Intergenerational Jazz Jam brings together singers, musicians, dancers, spoken word artists and audiences of all ages to experience the power of jazz, community, and swing. National Jazz Museum in Harlem. 58 W 125th Street. FREE with RSVP.

after tap dance artist, performer, choreographer, educator and allaround creative spirit. Lerman has performed, choreographed, produced, and directed many projects throughout her career and has shared the stage with such masters as Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Barry Harris and many more. Check her out at the National Arts Club. 15 Gramercy Park S. $25. February 10 7:00-9:00pm Ephraim Asili & Miatta Kawinzi

Presented in partnership with Maysles Cinema, this edition of Studio Screen brings together three films to investigate migration, displacement, and hyphenated identities: American Hunger (2013, 19 min) by Ephraim Asili, La Tercera Raíz (The Third Root) (2015, 9 min) by Miatta Kawinzi, and an excerpt of Ars Jus Pax (Art, Justice, Peace) (2019, 30 min) by exhibiting artist Dozie Kanu. Maysles Cinema. 343 Malcolm X Blvd. FREE with RSVP.

February 11 6:30-8:00pm I Love Myself When I Am Laughing: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader

Join the Schomburg Center for a conversation about Hurston’s legacy, with Jamia Wilson (Feminist Press), Tracy Sherrod (Amistad), and Vanessa De Luca (ZORA magazine), moderated by Jennifer Baker, Managing Editor at Random House Children’s Books Inc. 515 Malcolm X Blvd. FREE. February 13 6:30-8:00pm Harlem Chamber Players Annual Black History Month program

The 12th annual Black History Month Celebration by the Harlem Chamber Players is a celebration #HarlemRen100 with music by Florence Price and George Walker, and poetry by Langston Hughes. The program, hosted by Terrance McKnight of WQXR, features virtuoso pianist Joseph Joubert, soprano Renay Joubert, and members of The Harlem Chamber Players. Schomburg Center 515 Malcolm X Blvd. FREE.

February 21 6:00-8:00pm Oscar Sanders at the Sisters Uptown Bookstore Award-winning author/poet/filmmaker/spoken word performer Oscar Sanders launches his social justice spoken word book Exposing Politics: A Collection of Poetry at Sisters Uptown Bookstore and Cultural Center. Oscar Sanders will perform a set of portions of his book in ten (10) different characters “Oscar Sanders is the Dick Gregory and Paul Mooney of spoken word” Playwrights Horizon says, Exposing Politics is a poignant meditation of the troubling state of American Politics.” Refreshments will be served. 1942 Amsterdam Avenue at 156th St. FREE. Photos by Debi Jackson (Until Feb 29)