Sean

The TSA

It seems since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 the country has sunk into a perpetual state of panic. The fabric of America has been changed in such a way one finds themselves wondering if in our efforts to “keep the enemy from winning” we actually let the enemy win. All was not lost however; the job sector has definitely grown in some areas specific to securing our country. Entire government agencies, designed to protect American lives from the malicious intent of terrorists, have become ingrained into the fabric of our daily lives. The Transportation Security Agency, or TSA, is one such agency that was created as a response to calls for strengthening airport security and preventing future use of our commercial airplanes against us. Whilst the agency has created a significant amount of jobs in the United States, during a tumultuous economic period,  and there have been no attacks that mimic those on September 11th, the country remains divided about both the effectiveness and necessity of the TSA and whether or not this agency does more good than it does to prevent harm.

The creation of the TSA created and manages to sustain over 56,000 jobs domestically even while other sectors are forced to downsize. The averages salary for an employee of the TSA is $25,000- $40,000 dollars a year. The agency also receives almost 8 billion dollars a year in federal funding for its operations. The task of the agency is to screen and clear all airplane passengers and their belonging before they board. TSA agents use metal detecting machines, bomb making material detecting machines, Advanced Imaging Technologies (AIT), pat downs, strip searches, and x-ray machines in their daily mission to seek out the few amongst us that would harm others to advance or bring attention to their agendas. The lines created by this screening process can be long as every passenger and their identification must be checked and cleared before one can even begin the process. The agents are responsible for ensuring the safety of not just the passengers but the people of the United States that are potential targets that could become victims of terrorist. The TSA also is responsible for and have final approval over what items one can carry on a plane. The agency has a set list of prohibited items that absolutely cannot be brought on a plane and they enforce these rules with zero exceptions. In fairness the majority of prohibited items are pretty things that are commonly not allowed in public places (weapons, explosives, poisons, etc.) however some items (breast milk, lotion, water) are questioned and face strong resistance from a disgruntled public that is forced to discard their possessions if they wish to board their planes.. These rules and regulations have been criticized for being too tough and, in instances, unnecessary and the agency has taken steps to revise and relax on some of the rules. Now, with the changing of certain rules, the question of whether these items are as dangerous as originally perceived if they can lose the intensity of their threat levels.

For all the measures the TSA takes to make our lives safer they don’t have much to show in regards of any sort of success rate. The task of gauging the effectiveness of the TSA presents its own conundrum; on one hand one can claim the TSA is effective in that there have been no repeat attacks like the ones on 9/11 and on the other is that the agency has never caught or thwarted any potential attacks or attackers (or released information that it has). The agency can’t actually make any claims as to stopping any terrorist activity with definitive proof because one, technically, cannot become a terrorist until they commit an act of terror. The agency has and does routinely stop a number of passengers, weekly, that attempt to take prohibited items on airplanes however, as is their policy,  the exact list of items or names of the passengers and the outcomes of these stops are not disclosed to the public. The public, whose tax dollars pay for the existence of this agency, are left in the dark as to the outcomes, investigations, and, ultimately, the effectiveness of the agency outside of political fear mongering. The actual benefits of the agency are non existent and their only justification is based solely on the theory that we are safer because they exist.

In 2010 a Republican staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure released a report in that highlighted the failures of the TSA. In their report the committee found that the TSA not only misappropriated funds, didn’t use (or even unpack) expensive equipment, and on numerous occasions overstepped the legal parameters of their duties. The gross misappropriation of monies allotted to the agency with over 99% of total orders of actual bomb detecting machines shows a contempt or complete neglect for public safety. An astounding number of agents were found incapable of properly operating existing equipment that are considered essential to the screening process. The committee concluded that the result of these incompetencies and violations of privacy have not only negatively impacted the public perception of the agency but also the entire aviation industry; people just don’t want to put up with the hassle associated with traveling. The TSA routinely receives negative backlash from the American public for its screening tactics. Many Americans believe that the agency uses and misuses intrusive and often unnecessary search tactics. Claims of inappropriate groping by overzealous, and inexperienced, agents are common place on the nightly news.

While the agency has many complaints against it many Americans support and acknowledge  the importance of their work. This seems puzzling to people who are afflicted with ailments such as logic or knowledge. The agency has a low, if not non existent, success rate. . The cost to the American public is an astounding 8 billion dollars a year for services private firms, that comply with federal guidelines, used to execute for much cheaper rates. The American people find their tactics intrusive and many view it as a violation of their civil rights. Yet, somehow, with all these things going against them the agency persists and continues to be funded. It appears that the state of panic that we experienced after the terrorist attacks of September 11th still exist. The aim of the terrorists was to attack, disrupt, and change the day to day lives of the American people and by living in a state of fear we are showing our enemies how effective their tactics have been. If you are old enough to remember airplane travel prior to those attacks you can easily point out the differences in how it is ran and the fact that the agency has created jobs should mean nothing because they are useless jobs. A free people don’t have to walk around with multiple forms of identification like World War II era Germany. A free people should be free from the intrusive groping and pat downs for merely exercising or engaging in the privilege and right to travel. They should not endure x-rays of their bodies conducted by people who have no formal medical equipment training. And if their elected leaders, through use of Congressional Committee, should uncover the gross ineffectiveness of any government agency they should have a responsibility to end its funding and strip of it of its authority. The existence of the TSA can be explained in an metaphor I used to be told as a child when I would buy into things that were logically unsound; my grandfather would often say, “ I was once sold a whistle that repelled elephant and lion attacks; I’m sure it works because I blow it every day and I have never been attacked by a lion or an elephant- disregarding the fact that I live in Los Angeles and there are no lions and elephants roaming the streets, but that's because my whistle works very well.” The TSA is our countrys whistle and the terrorists are the animals; see how well our whistle works.