Ditch the TSA?

In light of all the bad press the Transportation Security Administration is getting, it's no surprise that a member of Congress is calling for airports to go with private contractors instead of the TSA. Rep. John Mica (R-FL) said, "I think we could use half the personnel and streamline the system."

The AP report notes:

Mica, who is the ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (and, once the new Republican majority takes control in January, its expected chair), counts among his campaign contributors some of the companies who might take the TSA's place.

That's no surprise, either.

The real question is, what makes Mica or anyone else think that private contractors are going to improve matters? The job is the same, and that type of job appeals to people with a desire to throw their weight around. Not everyone does it, of course, but the same small percentage that messes up the TSA's reputation will mess up private contractors' reputations too -- or do you believe that private companies are somehow divinely exempt from the realities of human nature?

The only thing private contractors might -- emphasis on "might" -- bring would be lower costs. On the other hand, do we want airline passenger security to be governed by the same mindset as institutional toilet tissue? It's a ruthless dedication to cost-cutting that led BP to the Deepwater Horizon fiasco (I'm still not convinced by the
findings to the contrary), and before that, led to the deaths of U.S. military personnel in Iraq due to faulty electrical wiring in their showers. Cost-cutting is not necessarily the nirvana that the free market's most fervent advocates believe.

You know what I want? I want the screeners at airports to be working from a well-defined playbook that is understood at all levels. I want the guy operating the metal detector to be as clear on procedure as the head of the TSA in Washington, DC -- and vice versa. I want these people to understand what their mission is, the risks to which they might need to respond, and to understand how to adapt themselves to changing situations. I want them to realize that their job changes every day, they have to stay sharp, they need to be ready for on-the-job continuing education, and they are not just dumbass mall cops.

The rest of us need to demand that these people not be treated, or trained, like toll booth attendants, too. Now, to be fair, I haven't heard more than a few bad-apple stories, and even in these stories, most of the multiple TSA staffers the passengers encountered are described as "professional." That's about all I think it's reasonable to expect. On the other hand, it's reasonable not to expect any less.

We shouldn't be under any illusions, though. It's hard to weed out jackasses. They make their way into every field, no matter who the employer is. Handing passenger screening to private industry just means these guys will apply at a different office: it doesn't make it any more likely they'll be prevented from getting a job they shouldn't have.

I don't care if the agents work for the government or not. I just want the system to work. And right now, I don't think either the feds or private industry have a lock on how to do that.