Danger in the Skies

Since the government took over aviation security since 9/11, security has actually gotten worse. Fake bombs usually pass undetected by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the government agency set up to take control of airport passenger screening. One study found that the TSA is 2.5 times as likely to fail to detect a bomb as the none-too-effective private security firms it replaced. And investigators have invariably succeeded in smuggling common ingredients for explosives past TSA screeners. The new Congress, meanwhile, has worked to extend collective bargaining rights to TSA employees, so that their unions can protect them from being terminated for incompetence.