April 25, 2004

silhouette3.JPG From the desk of Mindles H. Dreck:

Nothing New Under the Sun

PROBLEM: airport securityperforming poorly.

SOLUTION: Private sector failure? - Federalize, Public sector failure? - FUND!
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Posted by Mindles H. Dreck at April 25, 2004 1:02 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links
Comments
Posted by: Patrick R. Sullivan on April 25, 2004 6:42 PM

Yet another strikeout for Paul Krugman, from his 9-16-01 NY Times column:

"In Europe, the people screening your bags are paid about $15 an hour plus benefits, and they get extensive training. Why didn't the United States take equal care?

"The answer is that in Europe, airport security is treated as a law-enforcement issue and paid for by either the airport or the national government. In the United States, however, airport security is paid for by the airlines; not surprisingly, they spend as little as possible. Don't blame them — the fault lies in ourselves, for depending on private companies to do a job that properly belongs in the public domain."

Posted by: MindBend on April 25, 2004 11:13 PM

Forfgive me, but how is this a strikout for Paul? I am more stupider than you, and I need help with proper form.

Are these new fedealr employeees makeing good money, ot still shit? Just wondering...and don't woory - I like facts.

And.....It sounds like a kick ass job!

http://b10.ezboard.com/fstevemillersbandfrm12.showMessage?topicID=478.topic

It's very likely to keep highly qualified people with these perks.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/26/a

The private sector at work! 'We saw almost no....'
$10K a year - avg. pay before 9/11!

I've got an idea. Let us return to the good ol' days before 9/11. It's cheaper and better at finding hijac....oh yeah.

Now for a real argument - is the free market ALWAYS better? or does the invisible hand need a helping hand every now and then? And if so - how much help should it get? That is the question - how much help, and where.

Posted by: dragoon on April 26, 2004 4:43 AM

Security doesn't return a profit, and airlines are not held liable for damages caused by their mistakes, so a certain amount of government intervention is likely called for. El Al is a government-run airline, and their security is superb. Of course, El Al level inspection would be incredibly costly for US airlines, but the point that government-run security can be effective is still true. That said, I don't expect much from the TSA.

Posted by: Roy W. Wright on April 26, 2004 9:43 PM

...and airlines are not held liable for damages caused by their mistakes...

There's the key to making the "invisible hand" work properly.

Comments are Closed.