Defending the Pittsburgh area taxpayers and businesses against the burdensome taxation and regulation of Big Government

Two very large red flags are being raised by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy in its latest numbers-crunching of passenger traffic and costs at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT).

But first, a brief overview.

“So far in 2025, PIT passenger counts (based on airport reporting) have been lower for five of the seven months through July compared to the same period in 2024,” says Jake Haulk, president-emeritus of the Pittsburgh think tank (in Policy Brief Vol. 25, No. 30).

“Only January and April posted increases,” the Ph.D. economist notes. “June’s decline of 3.7 percent and July’s 3 percent drop have been quite large, totaling 69,694 passengers compared to the passenger count for the same two months in 2024.”

And Haulk does not see the downward trend abating.

“Life is full of a thousand red herrings, and it takes the history of a civilization to work out which are the red herrings and which aren’t,” once noted Welsh screenwriter and film director Peter Greenaway.

Or a public policy think tank that condenses the long history of facts to dispel one giant canard in one deft swoop.

As the debate continues in Harrisburg about how to fund public transit, the issue of geographical funding equity has reemerged. That is, shouldn’t rural areas help foot the bill for urban public transit services?