$12.85 an hour

> For government benefits and a salary that starts at $12.85 an hour, these unarmed officers swallow the irritation of others, apply security methods that intensify by the day, stifle the awkwardness they might have about touching other people — oh, and be on alert for bombs, [liquid containers](http://www.tsa.gov/311/ "TSA Web site.") holding more than 3.4 ounces, sharp objects, explosive ingredients and the next Abdulmutallab. > > “I want them to think Abdulmutallab with every pat-down,” Mr. Burdette said. That’s how much our security is worth, in terms of personnel. $12.85 an hour. That’s what the TSA is willing to pay for the men and women on the front lines of our defense against terrorists.

And we’re supposed to take them seriously as an agency?

In-N-Out Burger pays better than that, in case you were thinking about signing up.

How about you save yourself the million dollars on the X-Ray backscatter machine and bump up the base salary to maybe $15 or $20 an hour. Better yet, make it a salaried position at $90,000 a year. Then spend a little more money training your staff on how to detect HUMAN BEHAVIOR and use judgement to figure out who the terrorists are, rather than having them waste time looking for bombs that are almost never there.

Of course morale is low for these employees. It’s not their fault that they are grossly unqualified for the responsibilities they are given. But we have to face facts. They are unqualified, and that’s not going to change as long as you’re paying $12.85 an hour. Keep tacking on more responsibility, including forcing them to grope people’s privates, and it’s no wonder they have an incredibly high turnaround rate.

Any business major would tell you that the more you look at the TSA, the more you see evidence of incredibly poor management, gross mishandling of basic public relations, and massive inefficiencies in the allocation of money and resources. This company wouldn’t last ten days in the private sector. And we’re supposed to believe that it’s the “most effective” way, as our president put it, of preventing terrorism? We’re supposed to just implicitly trust that they know better than anyone in the world how to keep bombs from airplanes?