Wow, this thread is still going, and, frankly, I find it enlightening and thought-provoking.

There seem to be three camps in this thread (though some people belong to more than one camp):

1) The TSA inherently encroaches on civil liberties and / or breaks the law in other ways, is inefficient, ineffective, and costly.

2) The TSA does a lot of things wrong, but if you just go about your business, you will likely never have a problem.

3) This is a tough, underfunded job. Securing an air system is a tough job, and the TSA needs to do that job. For the most part they will allow you to pass, but they do need to clear you first.

Personally, I think all three are valid point and have merit. In terms of the OP, I am not sure it really matters which camp you fall into. The cost of the "stolen" materials are small.

I fall into camp one, however, because 1) as an economist, I don't think it is worth spending so much money to get air safety, and we don't get enough for what we do spend. And 2) Because I know that government bureaucracies will always encroach. If it is shoes, liquids, and papers now, it is not inconceivable to think the government might one day ban books on topics that are not "safe."

Government controlling information is the historical world norm, and the US is a small blip countering that. I, for one, think it is worth picking the small battles to prevent needing a big one. FWIW, I also try and fight the big battles, in terms of attending fund raisers with elected officials and making my views known, but most are not able to do that, so they fight where they can.