Scott Kirby says national service for everyone would be good for the US
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said people could spend a couple of years teaching, firefighting or in military service.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said national service for everyone would be good for the country, offering the view during a Bloomberg Television interview after discussing his support for taxing wealth growth. Kirby framed the idea as another personal “non-consensus” opinion, rather than a United Airlines position or a detailed policy plan.
Asked on Oct. 21 for another view outside the mainstream, Kirby said he thought people spending a couple of years as teachers, firefighters or in military service could benefit the United States. He repeatedly said he was not a policy advocate and was not running for office, according to the Bloomberg Television interview.
What did Scott Kirby say about national service?
Kirby said he favored national service for everyone and named teaching, firefighting and military service as examples of work people might do for a couple of years. He did not spell out who would be covered, how the service would be organized, how it would be paid for or what exemptions might apply.
He tied the idea to bringing people together and to his concern about the country’s future. Kirby said he has seven children and cited federal deficits and Social Security among problems he believes should not be left to a later generation.
Comments followed wealth-tax debate
The national-service comments came after Kirby defended his earlier view that wealth growth should be taxed in some fashion while income taxes are reduced. He said the current treatment of passive investment income can allow wealthy people to accumulate gains without paying taxes on that growth, which he described as unfair.
Kirby said he was giving an opinion rather than advocating a specific measure. He told Bloomberg his email response to the wealth-tax remarks was roughly split between support and opposition.
Fortune reported that Kirby attended the Air Force Academy and later worked at the Pentagon as a budget analyst. The report said an inner-ear condition prevented him from becoming a fighter pilot.
His national-service remarks did not set out a formal proposal. They were offered as a broad civic-service idea, with civilian work and military service among the examples he gave.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.