The Cost of Anything is the Foregone Alternative

The New York Times reports:

At least six men suspected or convicted of crimes that threaten national security retained their federal aviation licenses, despite antiterrorism laws written after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that required license revocation. Among them was a Libyan sentenced to 27 years in prison by a Scottish court for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie.

It’s long been a truism of economics that the cost of anything is the foregone alternative. In this case, a huge amount of our air travel security spending goes into ensuring that you can’t fly if your name and ID don’t quite match (looking at you, Jim), rather than preventing convicted terrorists from getting aviation licenses.

2 thoughts on “The Cost of Anything is the Foregone Alternative

  1. More evidence of the charade that the TSA and other “security” measures forced upon average citizens are. Disgraceful.

  2. Think of TSA and its associated idiocies as full employment for a certain segement of the population, namely guys who wish they were Clint Eastwood.

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