Sure… That’ll Fix It!

This article was featured in our weekly newsletter, the Liberator Online. To receive it in your inbox, sign up here. As summer travel kicked off, the news media reminded us of long security lines at TSA checkpoints at airports throughout the country. For some, this was actual news. After a whirlwind of coverage, the Transportation Security Administration revealed that WE are the reason for longer lines at airports. Apparently, the summer travel season and a lack of screeners (both of which are foreseeable), along with our inability to meet their projections for Pre-Check applications are the reason we stand in longer lines this summer. This news, combined with their recent failure rate of 95 percent in the Homeland Security Inspector General’s office testing of their procedures and staff led to the announcement that the head of security operations at the Transportation Security Administration has been replaced. While this replacement may briefly satisfy the masses looking for blame this summer, it does not address the underlying issues with TSA. Kelly Hoggan’s removal from his post, is a quick, “DO SOMETHING!” measure to show action in the midst of congressional hearings and increased scrutiny for the agency. It doesn’t even address accountability, as Hoggan is simply being reassigned. As with so many “reforms” offered by politicians and bureaucrats to address the issues of the day, removing Mr. Hoggan from his post is simply a band-aid on the many problems with the agency. As my friend Lawrence Reed at The Foundation for Economic Education is quoted as saying, “Have you ever noticed how statists are constantly ‘reforming’ their own handiwork? Education reform. Health-care reform. Welfare reform. Tax reform. The very fact they’re always busy ‘reforming’ is an implicit admission that they didn’t get it right the first 50 times.” As with many other aspects of government and central planning, there is no desire to fix the actual problems. Rather, band-aids and half-hearted efforts rule the day. Even in the face of complete failure, simply reassigning the head of TSA security after rewarding him with lavish bonuses just two years ago passes for a satisfactory response. Can you imagine how this would play in the real world? What would happen if the department you ran screwed up 19 out of 20 times? Unless you’re an inventor, your pink slip would have already been served. The response in the world of the obese government central planning is to blame those using the service for not meeting expectations and offer another reform. I’m shocked. You?