Something has to give. If the TSA simultaneously demands specific procedures, staffing levels and pay, then what would be the point of the private firm?

I'll grant you that this is government we're talking about, so I shouldn't be surprised if that's true, but I'm hoping that the private firms can improve upon at least one of those three.

That is, if you demand certain procedures and pay levels, you can adjust the staffing to meet demand. As it stands now, labor is wasted when the airport isn't busy, and labor is in short supply when the airport is busy.

The airlines seemed to have figured out how to use labor more efficiently. Go to a small airport 10 minutes after a flight has left, and see if there are three employees at the ticket counter hoopin' it up. Not only are there not three, there's ZERO.

They come back later, before the next flight goes out, because they don't need to be at the ticket counter 10 minutes after the flight departed.

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"Yippie-kay-yay, Mr. Falcon!" -- John McClane, Die Hard II As Seen on TV