TSA-Pre - take someone else's money and liberty, thanks

TSA-Pre is a such a con. TSA gets to take $100 bucks of your money for the honor and privilege of not tearing apart your luggage to find serious threats like the tube of toothpaste that’s more than 4 ounces. Recently I got put through a “pilot program” which meant people now had to take out their tablets and any electronics bigger than a cell phone.

The really insidious part of these increasing “security” measures is that they are effectively slowing down the main line, or the “happy lane”[1] as the TSA Chief John Pistole calls it. Why would a burgeoning bureaucracy add more silly measures? So they make you want to shell out the extra cash for the line with the smiling agent who doesn’t make you take off your shoes, make you take your laptop out, and you don’t get radiated by a microwave machine that probably causes cancer.

What effectively does this do to the main line for those who cannot afford the $100? They get increasing pressure and scrutiny and are more likely to miss their flight because some agent doesn’t like they way they look.

My credit card even has a program where I can get this for free, but I refuse. You aren’t taking my money or the freedom of people who can’t afford this luxury. Its not more secure, it further divides the haves and the have-nots, it puts more money into the pockets of an organization that has lied to us and isn’t regulated by the government. Nope, not this time and not ever TSA. Go take someone else’s money and liberty.

[1] http://www.denverpost.com/2016/05/31/how-pre-check-made-airport-security-lines-longer/