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TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

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Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#131

Post by AlotOfReading »

schmookeeg wrote: post #97
AlotOfReading wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the TSA exists because 19 people hijacked 4 flights and succeeded in crashing 3 of them into various important buildings in the US on 9/11/2001. Private planes are just as capable of crashing into buildings as commercial jets. The TSA has picked up some ancillary public safety functions over the years, but their raison d'etre is to prevent hijackings.

In terms of menace potential, any private plane will lose to a van full of fertilizer and a baddie intent on causing destruction. It's a matter of scale. Little planes, like this one [1] just don't do damage on the same scale as airliners. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Austin_suicide_attack

Government building codes already anticipate the "van full of fertilizer" attack, as a result of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Federal building security is a separate matter though, with its own agency called FPS that predates DHS and TSA by decades.

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#132

Post by lotsofpulp »

hellojesus wrote: post #75
porridgeraisin wrote: post #5

In Indian temples line-sitters are very common. Many queues are 5+ hours long.

Fascinating. Is there something specific about those temples that draws the crowds, like something akin to a famous cathedral? Must worship take place in a temple? I don't know how the religion works but did get to visit a local temple once with some coworkers and enjoyed the atmosphere.

Status symbols among certain tribes. I went to place. Most (all?) religions don’t prevent the poor from salvation, but humans like to make up hurdles to see who can overcome them.

The status isn’t even necessarily money related, but can just be to see who is more “devoted”.

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#133

Post by advisedwang »

Someone1234 wrote: post #51
otterley wrote: post #29

I don’t even understand why this is an issue, because TSA screening is funded through user fees. There’s a line item of $5.60 per one-way ticket for exactly this that’s separate from airfare and other fees. ( https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/security-fees ) If this is so, why does Congress have to fund the program? Why not pass the funds through directly to the agency?

The question itself feels like it calls for "Schoolhouse Rock" level basics about how the federal government works. The federal government does not work like a private escrow account where a fee collected for X automatically goes to Y. Tax revenue comes in to the Treasury, and Congress decides what agencies are allowed to spend. So even if TSA screening is funded in part by a per-ticket user fee, TSA still does not g…

Many government services do directly use fees to pay for operating the service. Those services can operate with no government appropriation, and the funds never leave the specific agencies' own accounts.

Examples:

* USCIS (source: https://www.aila.org/library/practice-alert-what-happens-if-...)

* 1,823/7,001 Fish and Wildlife service staff (https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-09/do...)

* 38,252/74,210 of the FDA (https://www.hhs.gov/about/budget/fy-2026-hhs-contingency-sta...)

* USPS (although as a government owned corporation the separation of funding is more obvious)

* Customs (the actual folks that process tariffs are paid for by the tariffs, unlike border patrol)

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#134

Post by paradox460 »

schmookeeg wrote: post #97
AlotOfReading wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the TSA exists because 19 people hijacked 4 flights and succeeded in crashing 3 of them into various important buildings in the US on 9/11/2001. Private planes are just as capable of crashing into buildings as commercial jets. The TSA has picked up some ancillary public safety functions over the years, but their raison d'etre is to prevent hijackings.

In terms of menace potential, any private plane will lose to a van full of fertilizer and a baddie intent on causing destruction. It's a matter of scale. Little planes, like this one [1] just don't do damage on the same scale as airliners. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Austin_suicide_attack

What about a private plane full of anfo

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#135

Post by cheschire »

Someone1234 wrote: post #51
otterley wrote: post #29

I don’t even understand why this is an issue, because TSA screening is funded through user fees. There’s a line item of $5.60 per one-way ticket for exactly this that’s separate from airfare and other fees. ( https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/security-fees ) If this is so, why does Congress have to fund the program? Why not pass the funds through directly to the agency?

The question itself feels like it calls for "Schoolhouse Rock" level basics about how the federal government works. The federal government does not work like a private escrow account where a fee collected for X automatically goes to Y. Tax revenue comes in to the Treasury, and Congress decides what agencies are allowed to spend. So even if TSA screening is funded in part by a per-ticket user fee, TSA still does not g…

https://www.gao.gov/products/b-167710-o.m.

"Nonappropriated fund activities" are a thing though?

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#136

Post by NewJazz »

elromulous wrote: post #21
arjie wrote: post #10

It seems that SFO's policy of having an intermediate company that buffers salaries is working well because I flew through there to Taipei after this whole situation and there was no wait.

I _just_ went though the line. It wasn't too bad (5-10min, despite having bio ID), but it was by far the worst I've encountered at SFO in the decade I've been flying out of there.

Probably because people are going via SFO when they might otherwise go via Oakland or elsewhere.

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#137

Post by 1986 »

elromulous wrote: post #98
elromulous wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I _just_ went though the line. It wasn't too bad (5-10min, despite having bio ID), but it was by far the worst I've encountered at SFO in the decade I've been flying out of there.

P.s. And as usual, TSA doesn't understand anything about queueing theory and doesn't implement round robin / starvation prevention. Global services and clear get absolute priority over other queues.

That's a feature, not a bug

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#138

Post by AustinDev »

caminante wrote: post #129
verall wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not nearly enough jobs to be a jobs program

By what standard? Federal civilian workforce (ex Postal Service and Military) is only 3 million. TSA has 60k employees. That's a lot of permanent jobs.

And they get Federal pensions and healthcare funded by tax dollars.

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#139

Post by natas »

GaProgMan wrote: post #120

I flew out of SeaTac yesterday (March 28th), and the TSA there were pretty well staffed. Took me around 6 minutes, and that was only because the person in front of me was talking to the agent about the tote bag they got from Trader Joe's.

those tote bags are the town's talk!!!
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