Thursday, November 25, 2010

Why we should consider eliminating the TSA altogether

I think this article sums up the inherent problem with organizations like the TSA.

These are structural issues - you can't change your management or your strategy to address it; it is built-in to the very notion of what the TSA (or other security agencies) is about.

How much terrorism is acceptable? None, of course. We should never accept any. But that's actually not the right question. The question is "how much effort and money is it worth relative to the threat posed?" We answer this question every day with our police force and military and find a reasonable balance (or else we adjust). With the TSA, as the article above points out, the question simply cannot be answered. They are tasked with providing 100% security, and there is no balancing mandate to say when they have gone too far.