Originally Posted by oenophilist

I'll reply to some of the other posts when I get a free moment, but wanted to quickly reply to yours...



I think that you are asking the wrong question. It is not the policies nor procedures that drive my belief that the TSA is necessary: it is the accountability. Private companies are accountable only to shareholder wealth.

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.