Originally Posted by oenophilist

A quick story that puts it into perspective: when I was at University and worked as an RA, I knew all the campus security, and I knew which ones were good and which ones were either lazy or incompetent. After graduating and taking a job that caused me to travel alot, I used to go through airport security, and on more than one occasion I encounter the lazy or incompetent ones had become airport security with a private firm doing the security checks. And I recall just how inconsistent and poor the security checks were. So when I say that it would be an unmitigated disaster, I am not speaking of the policies or procedures, but rather the accountability of those doing the screening. I would much rather have an agency that has long-term employees performing security than private companies with revolving doors of employees, answering to shareholders above all else.