I try not to lecture; sorry if it came across that way.

I've never experienced actual TSA agent checking IDs, so that is somewhat surprising to me. I'd much rather they actually spend their time keeping additional security lanes open and let the contracted "help" continue in their ID checking role, but I suppose that's way too sensical. The ID checking almost never the bottleneck in the security game -- the xray/metal detecor are. Having TSA agents checking ID just keeps them from actually opening another line, or performing secondary screenings. In some airports they stop all processing in a line until the secondary has been "picked up" by an agent. When they're busy that can be several minuntes. All so someone "more qualified" is looking at an ID