b'PUBLISHERS COLUMN 7Theres Plenty of Smooth Air If We Ignore the StaticFor most airports, the new year has begun much like 2023 ended.Also looming is this years presidential Planes, terminals and parking lots are full. There are more airportelection, where politics have the potential projects taking place than weve ever seen. Funding for future growthto wreak havoc with reason. The dialogue has been secured. Inflation has calmed down, and it appears that theassociated with the election will have an Fed and White House have achieved the elusive soft landing that willimpact on Congress, consumer confidence keep fears of recession at bay. and business investment decisions. I had This is certainly all good news. Even better news is that analready seen examples late last year of some expected reduction of interest rates in 2024 should encouragebusinesses pulling back growth forecastsPAUL BOWERS, PUBLISHERsustainable growth for the next few years. and reducing budgets due to a feared recession that never materialized. Not only will these actions hurt OK, so we now have an economy thats providing consumersthe companies themselves, but the ripple effect will hurt their who want to travel and wallets with cash to pay for it. As anemployees, not to mention customers who will wait longer to industry, we have projects ready to keep pace with increasedreceive orders placed.demand and the cash to pay for them. So, what could go wrong?Theres a lot to feel good about. Lets do our part to keep it going.For starters, the rug can be pulled out from under FAA funding. Congress has played with the agencys funding authority, which isCheers,scheduled to expire in March, as it continues to negotiate a long-term FAA reauthorization bill thats been held up since June 2023.FEB_AIRPORT_IMPROV_COR_CROP_769716.pdf 1 12/19/23 11:21 AMFull-service solutions,from arrival to departure.CMYCMMYCYCMYKEXPLORE OUR SERVICESAirportImprovement.comJanuary | February 2024'