How Social Security and VLJs Are Similar

Remember when very light jet designs had everyone talking. Their fate may match Social Security's fate.

Jason Depew

Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 09:00 AM ET

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The ATG Javelin in 2006. [Photo: Calyponte]

Key Takeaways:

The article draws a parallel between the initial hype and subsequent failure of the Very Light Jet (VLJ) industry—due to unrealistic promises, rushed development, and insufficient funding—and the U.S. Social Security system.
It argues that Social Security is "effectively bankrupt" because it made unsustainable promises, such as annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA), without commensurate tax increases, leading to projected trust fund depletion by 2033.
While advocating for privatized, individually controlled retirement accounts, the author acknowledges that there are no easy fixes for Social Security's solvency issues, as privatization presents complex challenges and potential drawbacks.

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The year of my first trip to EAA’s Airventure at Oshkosh was special. Light sport aircraft had general aviation pilots excited, and a new category of very light jet (VLJ) designs had sprung into existence when aircraft design technology caught up to the creation of the Williams FJ44 fanjet engine.

These VLJ designs promised a new era of aircraft ownership. These aircraft had capabilities that would enable the creation of air taxi companies that would have resembled an aviation version of Uber years before the idea caught on for car travel.