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A case for privatizing airline security

Arnold Kling and Nick Schulz have a very good article on the subject at USA Today.  It begins:

After the underwear bomber’s attempted mass murder, Americans are losing patience with the airline security system. It is bad enough that our screening process makes innocent people work far too hard to prove that they are not terrorists. It also manages to make it too easy for actual terrorists to be treated as innocent.

President Obama said the security system failed “in a potentially disastrous way.” He’s right. So how can we improve it?

The security process needs several things it is lacking. It needs continuous adaptation, with a strong focus on satisfying customers and improving results. It needs to find new and better methods of meeting the demands of customers who value safety as well as speed and efficiency. It needs to function in a dynamic environment, disciplined by rigorous competitive pressure.

In short, it needs the market.

Kiling and Schulz make great points, anticipate the opposition, and point out that

While most passengers don’t realize this, the TSA itself permits a handful of airports, such as Kansas City and Rochester, to use private security contractors under its Screening Partnership Program.

Read the whole article:

Airline security: Let’s go private: A market-based apparatus might lead to better service and — most important — safer air travel.

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