Yesterday I ran a poll to gauge just how much the TSA "protections" (in quotes) was worth to people. In it I tried to get a sense of how much of a ticket refund would be required for you to fly "naked" of the TSA protections. For the exercise I included both passenger screening and baggage checking. But I allowed pilot door locks and pilot training to never turn over the controls. The options ran from over a $100 refund to a zero dollar refund and I even threw in a negative refund meaning that you would be willing to pay more to get rid of the TSA airport process.
Unfortunately the diary concept was a bit confusing for people. So after the flip I will recast it and try again.
So here's the deal. Imagine a new TSA system. Imagine that separate terminals existed for two kinds of flights. At one terminal all the usual TSA "protections" exist and your ticket costs what it costs now.
But at the other terminal there are no TSA "protections", but there is a refund to you equal to the value of the portion of your ticket that the protections cost. Now granted calculating that number is beyond our capability but humor the concept for a moment.
So what I am looking for here is the ability of you to put a dollar value on the TSA "protections". And keep in mind that those protections are getting more expensive. Just lately the Chicago Tribune ran an article about a new radio scanning device that produces nude-like images of what's under your clothing. Just stand, raise your arms and wait four seconds while someone looks at a computer generated image of you behind your clothes.
And that's where things begin to get confusing. Some folks will gladly pay more to not to have to do those sorts of things. Just taking off their shoes gives them the creeps. So we end up with a double edged sword. Or maybe conundrum describes it better. If you want to refuse the "protection service" that the TSA is offering then you may need to pay more to not have that service. You know, like the gangsters in the movies. Hey buddy, want to buy our window insurance? It protects your windows from being broken. No? Well, good luck. Want to not to have to go through TSA indignities? Then pay up.
But that's the cynical way to look at it. I'm not interested in going there. I want to take TSA at its word. Because people are now afraid to fly because of terrorists the TSA is providing a service to you the flier. Its service reduces the chance of dieing in a terrorist related plane crash.
So what I want to know is, how much do you value that service? Dig deep into your psyche and put a dollar value on the added fear of flying without the TSA "protection service" (not racket) that lessens those fears. If you were given $25 would that balance out your fear enough to proceed without TSA "protection"? No? More? No actually even less?
And here's where the confusion may arise. You may easily go down to zero because really the extra hassle of TSA may actually out weigh the extra fear of dieing at the hands of a terrorist. Or maybe not a terrorist but maybe just simply a nutcase. Don't forget, the TSA is doing unheralded work keeping nutcases from trying to take out a bunch of folks with them.
So that's your question. How much would it take to balance your fear?