Originally Posted by
thegeneral
<SNIP> Perhaps you can have the person who first brought up the cost issue get busy with that. I see little difference in security now and before 9/11. I doubt that the costs are excessively different.
Here’s a start. I’m sure someone has some more complete figures on what was spent on security in 2000 (which should be a more accurate comparison than 2001):
Senate Report 109-273 - DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2007
AVIATION SECURITY FEES
Prior to September 11, 2001, aviation security was paid for and overseen by the commercial passenger air carriers. Pursuant to section 118 of Public Law 107-71, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act [ATSA], the Federal Government assumed responsibility for this mission. Through ATSA, the Government is authorized to collect fees from the air carriers for the carriers' portion of security costs based on what they paid in calendar year 2000, the last full year prior to September 11, 2001. According to TSA's initial estimates in 2000, industry paid approximately $750,000,000 for security; however, upon further auditing by the Government Accountability Office [GAO], done at the request of the Committee, it was discovered that the amount of passenger and property screening costs incurred by air carriers in 2000 was approximately $448,000,000 versus the $319,000,000 paid to TSA (GAO-05-558, April 2005). The GAO audit (GAO-05-558) concluded TSA should be collecting an annual average of approximately $448,000,000 from the air carriers. The Committee assumes TSA will collect $546,000,000, as proposed in the budget, in air carrier fees that will be available to directly offset TSA appropriations requirements. Of this amount, $448,000,000 is the total reflected in the GAO audit (GAO-05-558), plus $98,000,000 in retroactive fiscal year 2005 and fiscal year 2006 fees.
Linkage
Originally Posted by
thegeneral
Your people don't want to come here because of TSA/CBP or do you really mean CBP? What they go through with TSA is more or less the same as what they go through at home, so how possibly could that be a deterrence to them visiting. You might have a valid point about CBP, but you really don't with the TSA.
In their eyes of a traveler from outside the States, what’s the difference? The end result is the same if you have government employees with badges at airports with poor customer service skills. There’s plenty of vacation destinations in the world where one can go without being barked at, the Shoe Carnival, the War on Liquids, etc.
Originally Posted by
thegeneral
Why would you be sorry that I hate traveling for work?
I guess my take on it is that a lot of folks here still enjoy travel. Like me though, the TSA is really taking the fun out of the game.