11 ms·
Wait, you mean the millions, possibly billions spent already haven't done a thing? Shocking! And now you can pay (TSAPre) to bypass the security theater essent
by spanktar 11y ago
Wait, you mean the millions, possibly billions spent already haven't done a thing? Shocking! And now you can pay (TSAPre) to bypass the security theater essentially proving that the whole thing is a massive sham. I'm all for security, but nobody can seem to define what that would actually look like, as opposed to what we have now.
- bediger4000 11y agothe millions, possibly billions spent already haven't done a thing? That's not correct at all. The billions spent have done a lot: they've created an entire class of "cleared" people, and support industries for them. I'm not sure that creating a new aristocracy was the desired end point, but that's what we've gotten to. The "cleared" people Know Better Than Us, and Keep Us Safe, so We Give Them Special Privileges.
- mikeash 11y agoI don't see how Pre exposes it as a sham. I'm no fan of the TSA and I think a lot of the stuff they do is useless at best, but giving people differing amounts of scrutiny based on their risk profile seems pretty smart to me. It's not as if you pay your money and automatically get through. They check you out first and make sure that you're a suitably low risk, and only let you bypass some of the checks if you actually qualify.
- newman314 11y agoPaying money into Pre creates a two class system between the haves and havenots. It does nothing to improve security. In fact, it pretty much proves that Pre should be the norm instead of exception.
- zzalpha 11y agoYou clearly have no idea how Pre works. You don't just pay money and get a pass. There's a significant background check involved which, I suspect, does more to enhance security than some millimeter wave scanner in the security line.
- msandford 11y agoSo significant that my mother who has flown a total of no more than 30,000 miles in her whole life (spread out over no fewer than eight airlines) has pre-check, gifted to her by one airline for no discernible reason. She was very pleased to get it of course, but the "significance" of the background check is highly questionable in my opinion.
- mikeash 11y agoWhy would the number of miles flown have anything to do with it?
- msandford 11y agoWhy would the airline give her an $85 gift if she didn't have a lot of miles, and therefore a lot of "status" as the airlines call it? I see a lot of people in this thread suggesting that more miles equals more likelihood of the airline giving it to you.
- mikeash 11y agoI have no idea, but the airline's process for deciding who they hand it to has nothing to do with the background check performed by the government.
- msandford 11y agoThe point is that if airlines (or the TSA) can afford to give it to people that don't spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, perhaps the $85 "background check" isn't terribly thorough and therefore more of a joke than real security.
- Bedon292 11y agoThe number of miles / times / airlines that have been flown has no relationship to the Pre Check. It is literally a background check, which your mother passed. Meaning she is lower risk than others who have not.
- stanleydrew 11y agoI've never paid money for TSA Pre-check. The airline I'm flying just sometimes puts it on my boarding pass. If there were a way to pay money I definitely would though just to get it every time guaranteed. Where should I send the ckeck?
- timdierks 11y agohttp://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheckR-application-program http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheckR-application-program ; but consider Global Entry instead: it's another $15 but also gives benefits at immigration.
- noondip 11y agoYou're forgetting the cost of surrendering your (illusion of) civil liberties by voluntarily disclosing private information about yourself to the government.
- mikeash 11y agoDo you provide any information they don't already have?
- ubernostrum 11y agoI have Global Entry. The application form didn't ask for anything more than what a typical job or rental application would (basically, employment and address history going back a few years). My Global Entry enrollment "interview" consisted of "Put your hand on the scanner. Now look at the camera. OK, you'll get your Known Traveler Number in an email later today, and a card you can keep with you in the mail in about a week." The CBP people who do GE generally seem to be on a whole different level of efficiency and understanding-actual-security compared to the average TSA blueshirt at the airport.
- dsl 11y agoIf you have traveled internationally, you've already given up the vast majority of the information required by Global Entry. I've had to submit to medical examinations, interrogations, and forced fingerprinting to enter some countries. Most of that stuff is sent back to the US to verify your identity.
- newman314 11y agoI find it interesting that my parent comment has been voted down to -1 (without reasons provided as to why) while the child comments seem to imply a lively discussion. If you are going to down vote, at least say why (other than zzalpha's pointless assertion) FWIW, if people are going to sign up for Pre/Gobal Entry/Nexus, it's the best bang for the buck to sign up for Nexus at $50 and included GE/Pre benefits. The only drawback is that you need to get to a Canadian border for the interview.
- superuser2 11y agoPre makes sense for people who fly frequently. These people are necessarily "haves."
- shit_parade2 11y agoMoney well spent if the goal was to condition people into obedience.