Everyone hates going through airport security. It’s as long and inconveniencing experience which can lead to uncomfortable situations with a stranger patting you down or rifling through your luggage. Recently however, this slow and tedious process is being drawn out in airports across the U.S. due to shutdowns in TSA management. It seems that the TSA has been the center in a political battle, in which the bill to allow the Department of Homeland Security to fund TSA is being blocked in congress. Because of this, the 243,000 TSA agents necessary to upkeep our airport security may be required to work without pay until a compromise can be reached.
The Transportation Security Administration was created to help ease the country’s fears of flying in the face of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. There was a sharp decrease in demand for travel by airline as Americans didn’t trust the security that the airlines provided. Flights were grounded for the next few days and necessary precautions were taken, but it took years for the market to fully recover. 
In this age, however, the TSA are under scrutiny for offering seemingly endless hassles for a service that has been proven to be ineffective in stopping real terrorist attacks. There is debate whether or not the benefits of increased security outweigh the time and inputs that it takes to go through and uphold it.
As this debate goes on however, thousands of americans are working without pay, and millions more are experiencing delays that cost them hours of their time. Hopefully a fair resolution can be reached soon, but in the meantime business trips have a new opportunity cost that can equate to a few hours at the airport or even an extra night stay away from home.
That is hard to believe that TSA is not currently being funded. I wonder if some workers have quit since they are not being paid, leaving them frictionally unemployed. With less workers, there would be less security causing there to be another decrease in demand for flying due to consumer tastes. Hopefully this issue can be resolved soon so that the people who were once a part of the TSA don't become discouraged workers.
ReplyDeleteThe debate that you offered was interesting, however, I'm sure that the labor/factor market is being reassessed for TSA staff in the airport industry. I'm sure that if they aren't already letting workers go, that the workers themselves are quitting. It is difficult to keep workers when there is no pay/funds, as it makes the opportunity cost to work there very high for the employees. So, I agree with your statement that demand is decreasing, but I'm sure that supply is decreasing as well. The labor force will then see an increase in unemployment, affecting the overall economy because of the magnitude of this dilemma.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree that public and homeland safety is very important, I can sort-of understand why congress might be hesitant to pass a bill to allow additional funding to go to the TSA. I researched this a bit and read that apparently the TSA has never truly stopped a terrorist attack, so this could be part of the reason for this hesitance. However, I don't believe that we should just leave 243,000 people without pay, because this could cause huge financial issues and a decrease in the circular flow of the economy. I hope that the government can find a way to fund the TSA, even if it means slight wage decreases or some other policy being enacted.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest reasons why people feel safe flying is because of the TSA security. Since, there is a disagreement about funding the security, the demand for flying may possibly go down. Although airport security can be one of the most annoying things about flying, it is very necessary to ensure for a safe flight. It honestly amazes me that some of the workers are working without pay, but I believe that the longer this goes on, workers are going to start to quit. All in all, I really enjoyed reading your blog post, but to improve, you could have added an average of how long the security lines are or even a graph of the number of workers for the past couple years.
ReplyDeleteTSA is a very important thing for us, if we didn't have them, most people would not fly. They would not feel safe to. Even if the demand for flying does go down, does not mean that we don't need TSA or need less of it. They are necessary part of having safe flights. I am surprised that workers have not quit because of not being paid but I also believe the reason they have not quit is because they also know that they are important to the people safety.
ReplyDeleteTSA is the reason I know for a fact that most people only fly. Without them I do not think there would be much business for flying. TSA is so important that I think it still needs to be funded and paid attention too. Just because demand does go down in flying they shouldn't not pay the TSA. Without them I do think flying would not be safe at all.
ReplyDeleteAt a glance, it may seem as if TSA is not stopping the true terrorist attacks, but without it, flying would become a free-for-all, and it would be much easier for terrorists to infiltrate airplanes full of hundreds of innocent people. The security check that we must endure before boarding a flight may be tedious, but it is nearly impossible to get anything past the security measures they have readily available. It is not made to inconvenience travelers, it is made to keep them safe, and it has definitely done its job. If the TSA ceased to be funded, demand for airplane tickets would decrease, and millions of Americans would be forced to find other travel options... which is nearly impossible for overseas travel. I had not yet heard of this news, so I thought your post was very interesting!
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