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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
byOzPeter ( 195038 ) writes:
For a small fee you can pay a company to allow you to skip the line of people waiting to be scanned. This allows you to walk up directly to the screening section rather than wait 30 to 45 minutes in line with the masses. Capitalism at its best. /sarcasm
byGigsVT ( 208848 ) writes:
Ignoring the general stupidity of many TSA practices, and that this is an artificial market created by government inefficiency, what's so fundamentally wrong with paying more to get through faster?
If your money is worth more than your time, you'll wait, if your time is worth more than your money, you'll pay. That's a fundamental decision every time you say something like "I'll pay someone to change my oil because I don't want to spend 20 minutes and get dirty doing it myself", or "I'll eat out so I don't have to cook". Time/money/value decisions are something you make dozens of every day.
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byjxander ( 2605655 ) writes:
I think the problem is that we've created artificial supply and demand.
Now if you'll just bend over, I need to insert this probe for national security reasons. Or you could pay me $20 and I'll find someone else.
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bytsqr ( 808554 ) writes:
I think the problem is that we've created artificial supply and demand.
They don't let anyone avoid security screening merely in exchange for money. "Fast-track" passengers pay for the privilege, but also go through a security vetting process to be eligible. That's different from paying to skip a long line, which is no more artificial than this: "Here, sit in this cramped seat with no leg room surrounded by screaming babies for the next 12 hours. Or, you can pay $$$ for a first-class seat, and I'll find someone else to put back here in Economy."
byjxander ( 2605655 ) writes:
They don't let anyone avoid security screening merely in exchange for money. "Fast-track" passengers pay for the privilege, but also go through a security vetting process to be eligible. That's different from paying to skip a long line, which is no more artificial than this: "Here, sit in this cramped seat with no leg room surrounded by screaming babies for the next 12 hours. Or, you can pay $$$ for a first-class seat, and I'll find someone else to put back here in Economy."
They don't let you skip the security scan, but they let you pay money to skip standing around in a needlessly long line. That's the artificial creation, the wait. They've made the scanning process much MUCH longer than it has to be. "Please take out any laptops, and any liquids and your shes and ... now step aside for enhanced screening and now put everything back on... "
Paying to upgrade to a first class seat makes more sense. There is only so much space in a plane. So if you want more space, you'll
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byOzPeter ( 195038 ) writes:
Ignoring the general stupidity of many TSA practices, and that this is an artificial market created by government inefficiency,
That is the whole point. And while I understand the time/money trade off, what I object to is that this market shouldn't exists in the first place.
byInfiniti2000 ( 1720222 ) writes:
I agree and would further suggest that it's a form of legalized racketeering. In effect, the system created an inefficient process (racket) and then is attempting to charge us for speeding things up. How this isn't racketeering is beyond me.
byJason Levine ( 196982 ) writes:
Well, there is a long and boring reason why government agencies doing this isn't racketeering. You see....
*points behind you* TERRORIST!!!! *ducks out of nearby window when you look away*
byOzPeter ( 195038 ) writes:
Ignoring the general stupidity of many TSA practices, and that this is an artificial market created by government inefficiency, what's so fundamentally wrong with paying more to get through faster?
Forgot to add that this system doesn't scale. If a larger number of people decide that time is money, then the skipping line will get congested and we'll all be back in the same boat again.
The true solution for congestion is to either speed processing or increase the number of processing lanes. Everything else is just a money grab
bydgatwood ( 11270 ) writes:
The true answer is to allow people to get through a full background check in exchange for skipping the screening process entirely. Frequent travelers (the majority) would do so, and this would cut the number of people waiting in line to almost nothing.
But they won't do that, because the TSA is primarily a jobs program, not a security screening service.
byAnonymous Coward writes:
"But they won't do that, because the TSA is primarily a jobs program, not a security screening service."
Oh, right, it's not that your proposal is a gaping security hole or anything.
bygIobaljustin ( 3526197 ) writes:
The true answer is to allow people to get through a full background check in exchange for skipping the screening process entirely.
No. The true answer is to get government thugs out of airports and stop harassing people.
bylgw ( 121541 ) writes:
You do realize they more-or-less do that now [tsa.gov], right?
byIngenium13 ( 162116 ) writes:
Except when they deny you without telling you why, with no real appeal process, because you can't JUST get pre-check, you have to get one of the other certifications instead. The most common one is Global Entry, which allows expedited customs. Have you ever forgotten to declare something small coming back into the country and they find it (even if it's not prohibited)? Then you're permanently banned from this program. Ever had someone ship you something from overseas and accidentally misdeclare customs (out
bylgw ( 121541 ) writes:
Well, you don't need Global Entry, there's a program that just takes a criminal background check [tsa.gov] (but doesn't help with international travel). You just need a Known Traveler Number. So unless your "failure to declare" was actually felony smuggling, you should be good. Assuming, of course, that there's not someone with a similar-sounding name on the arbitraty No Fly List.
bytsqr ( 808554 ) writes:
The true answer is to allow people to get through a full background check in exchange for skipping the screening process entirely. Frequent travelers (the majority) would do so, and this would cut the number of people waiting in line to almost nothing.
But they won't do that, because the TSA is primarily a jobs program, not a security screening service.
Well, as a matter of fact, the process you propose has been in use for over a year [cnn.com] at a few airports and airlines, and is expanding [huffingtonpost.com].
bydgatwood ( 11270 ) writes:
Well, as a matter of fact, the process you propose has been in use for over a year ...
No, it hasn't. My parents have gone through security as "TSA Pre" travelers. There's remarkably little difference between that and normal travel, from what I've seen, and at most, no more difference than the difference between buying a first-class ticket and a coach ticket (separate line). Yes, in theory, you have to do a few less things, but you still get in line, stick your bag on a belt, walk through a magnetometer o
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bynoh8rz10 ( 2716597 ) writes:
Keeping the flight deck doors secured (with felony criminal charges to await any crew that opens them under duress) and having a flight full of passengers ready to beat the carp out of any would-be hijackers [globaltimes.cn] are enough to keep the flight reasonably safe.
I'm sure the crew members under duress aren't very concerned about potential felony charges upon landing if they open the doors. I'm sure they are trying to balance the odds of dying immediately if they refuse to open the doors and in short order if they do. I'm sure landing and being arrested for criminal charges would be a near-best case outcome.
byJason Levine ( 196982 ) writes:
My bigger concern would be pilots being pressured into opening the door from the inside. They aren't in any immediate danger of harm, but might feel obligated to open the doors to "help those poor people on the other side." Yes, what might be happening on the other side of the doors might be horrible, but they should know that they'll be shielded from any liability so long as they immediately report it in and make an emergency landing the first opportunity they can.
byJason Levine ( 196982 ) writes:
I'd second this but also add that crew should also be held legally to hold no liability for anyone injured because they refused to open the cabin doors. For example, terrorist tries taking over a plane and says "If you don't open these doors, I shoot this woman!" Crew doesn't open the doors. Woman is shot. Woman's family sues the flight attendants, pilots, airline, etc over not opening the doors. At that point, the judge should be able to say "This was a terrorist situation and the law clearly exempts
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bygIobaljustin ( 3526197 ) writes:
Why do they need to? Look, freedom has risks; deal with it. Maybe you'll die today, or you'll die some other time. If you want to have freedom, you can't beg the government to take away people's rights in exchange for safety; you're a worthless coward if you do.
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bynoh8rz10 ( 2716597 ) writes:
true. it will all become just another tax.
maybe they'll end up charging you based on how long you want to wait in line. once people are sorted into 15 mins / 30 mins / 1 hr lines, they'll dynamically reallocate resources to make sure all lines move as planned.
Oh yeah, they can/will also charge depending by destination. If you're flying SF->LA and miss you're flight, you're out $100, but if you're flying SF->Sydney and miss your flight, that's $1000 at least. I imagine you would be willing to pay a lot
byCrimsonAvenger ( 580665 ) writes:
you're flight
No, I am not flight. Are you flight?
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byfahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) writes:
Time/money/value decisions are something you make dozens of every day.
Exactly. As noted in the movie Volunteers [wikipedia.org]
● Chung Mee: Speed is important in business. Time is money.
● Lawrence Bourne III: You said opium was money.
● Chung Mee: Money is money.
● Lawrence Bourne III: Well then, what is time again?
bySuricouRaven ( 1897204 ) writes:
Perverse incentive. If people can pay money to skip the lines, then longer lines are good for profit.
Much like ISPs: If your $40/month package is good enough for everyday use, a bit of gaming, netflix and the occasional torrent, who is going to pay for the $100/month package? The obvious solution is to make sure the $40/month package is sufficiently rubbish that anyone who can afford to pay more will do so.
bymaster_kaos ( 1027308 ) writes:
In Canada this isn't true (used to be until TPIA providers became a real threat to the big providers. Now it is structured to be more around upload usage, and bandwidth. http://www.start.ca/services/highspeed Very decent pricing structure. THe $40 pacakage really does work for 99% of people. But there are people who want the faster speeds/more bandwidth.
byEvanED ( 569694 ) writes:
This isn't really anything anyone hasn't already said, but....
Ignoring the general stupidity of many TSA practices, and that this is an artificial market created by government inefficiency, what's so fundamentally wrong with paying more to get through faster?
Nice airline ticket there. It'd be a shame if you missed it.
byAnonymous Coward writes:
Would it have flagged any of the 9/11 hijackers? No. So its basically saying a terrorist can skip the fake security too with a little money. Believe it or not, a terrorist organization with a goal has more money than you or I.
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