Mises Wire

Private Baggage Screeners Do a Better Job

Private Baggage Screeners Do a Better Job

Coming as a shock to no one but socialists, an AP story is reporting the results of a congressional investigation which indicates that privately employed baggage screeners outperform TSA bureaucrats. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security’s reply: “We need more money for better technology.”

Ahh, the same old bureaucratic song and dance—poor performance, and a hand stuck out for more funding.The private screeners are employed at five airports that were permitted to manage their own passenger/baggage screening measures under TSA oversight. Airports other than the five already granted special authority over their own safety procedures are often prohibited by law from augmenting the screening already provided by the TSA. The report also brings to light the (predictably) wasteful spending habits of the agency, with a new Herndon, VA TSA crisis management center project including expenses such as $250k in artwork, $29k on art consultants, and $30k on silk plants.

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