Dear NY Times: Hero's Impact on Stock No 'Coincidence'

Editor, The New York Times

229 West 43rd St.

New York, NY 10036

To the Editor:

You suggest that it might have been "a coincidence" that U.S. Airways' stock price shot up by 13 percent immediately after Cap't. Chesley Sullenberger completed a remarkable emergency landing in the Hudson River ("In a Split Second, a Pilot Becomes a Hero Years in the Making," [1] Jan. 16). Do you think that it was also a coincidence that Cap't. Sullenberger received telephone calls afterward from both President Bush and President-elect Obama?

In fact, both set of events were perfectly predictable. Evidence of a company's ability to provide excellent service to customers inevitably and properly raises that company's market value. And just as inevitably, politicians – who have absolutely nothing to do with the commendable actions in question – horn in on the glory, smarmily trying to perfume their own malodorous profession with the scent of genuine heroism and decency.

Sincerely,

Donald J. Boudreaux

Don Boudreaux is the Chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University and a Business & Media Institute adviser.