Originally Posted by QUERY

With all due respect, a security organization like TSA cannot be run like a private corporation. It would make the situation even worse. I've worked at private corporations, in the insurance field, about as cutthroat as can be. They did things like phased cuts of employees to make their bottom line look rosier than it was so that their stock price would go higher. The trouble is, the rest of the employees near the bottom of the ladder had to pick up the workload left by the terminated employees. It became impossible as they gutted the organization of good people. We did the best we could, not taking it out on our subscribers, but deep down there were no smiles on our faces. Eventually, the ax-cutters terminated our employment as well(but it wasn't a surprise because there were few of us left at the office anyway). If you did that to any security organization, you would be compromising the security of the very people the organization is supposed to protect. You specifically mention the Post Office and their current crisis whereby they are closing post offices and mailboxes to reduce their costs. You, as a customer, may see "improvement" in customer service because you associate the increased competition as the cause. It is email that is causing their woes. Its increased use has cut their revenues on letters as people make the switch. I've had a post office box for over 30 years at the same location and the employees I see there are not happy, despite the fact that their post office isn't closing. These employees probably have coworkers from other post offices that are getting the ax and now they will be getting the business from those closed post offices as well. There are no smiles on their faces. Most of them have always been courteous to the customers. They have supervisors that watch them work and take complaints when they screw up. There were a few bad apples but there will always be these types at every organization. You speak of value plus convenience from TSA because they are funded with taxpayer dollars. You get that from you local police force, FBI, CBP, etc.? They operate behind the scenes most of the time, protecting us.