Everyone’s angry at the TSA about the new airport search procedures. I don’t like it either. I normally prefer to argue from principle, but every freedom loving writer in America has that covered this time. So instead I’ll take a pragmatic angle that I haven’t heard yet.
- How many people are now choosing automobiles over airplanes because they don’t want to be radiated or fondled?
- As you know, air travel is safer than road travel. So how many injuries/deaths should we expect as a result of this increased car travel?
- How much do the TSA’s new screening procedures reduce the chance of injury/death on an aircraft?
Soon, some economist will figure out the answers to numbers 1 and 2. I suspect number 3 is not quantifiable, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some bureaucrat has already made up an answer.
Regardless, I strongly suspect that the answer to number 2 is going to dwarf the most optimistic guess for number 3. Put another way, the Transportation Safety Administration is actually making transportation more dangerous.
I’m looking forward to putting some numbers to this.