Opinion: Pouring out your shampoo won’t stop a terrorist attack.
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While most people love to travel, one look around an airport will show that no one enjoys the act of getting from one destination to another. Children are crying, adults are snapping at each other and everyone’s skin has the dull, lifeless look of someone who hasn’t had water in five hours. I reach peak misery when I get to security after spending an hour in line. As I desperately dig through my suitcase for the liquids I forgot to consolidate, the underwear I packed inevitably flies out of my bag and onto the floor. People wait angrily behind me, and the TSA agent tells me to hurry up. I take off my jacket, throw my electronics in the bin and untie my shoelaces. Then after a pat down, I walk through the X-ray and hurry to grab my stuff, putting on my shoes and placing my things back into the proper bag.

Overall, it’s annoying, but not too big of a deal. An inconvenience for me, but worth it to protect America from a terrorist attack. Sure, my 14 oz shampoo bottle isn’t a bomb, but it’s reassuring to know that if it were a bomb, someone would know. This used to be my line of thinking.

However, we have been conned. Not only is the TSA completely useless, but it actually costs lives rather than saves them. It turns out we’ve all been emptying our liquids and taking off our shoes for no reason at all.

The TSA, or Transportation Security Administration, is the government agency that oversees airport security. Prior to 9/11, travelers need only walk through a metal detector before boarding their flight. Contrast that to today where flyers are asked to empty their pockets, sort through their electronics, pour out their liquids and take off their shoes. Thus far, there is no evidence of the TSA having prevented a single terrorist attack. Even the U.S. government is skeptical as to whether these security measures do anything at all.

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security ran a series of tests in 2015, attempting to smuggle bombs and guns through security and onto planes. Of their 70 attempts, 67 succeeded. This means that when it comes to catching terrorists, the TSA has a 95% failure rate.

The SPOT program is another TSA program that has been proven ineffective. Airport staff are trained to report what is considered to be suspicious behavior. Something as innocuous as looking stressed, whistling, fidgeting or yawning is enough to constitute suspicious behavior, according to leaked documents. Yet there has never been any evidence to indicate that even one of the people reported through the SPOT program were planning to commit a terrorist attack. No one reported through the SPOT has ever been charged with this offense.

It is also suspected that the SPOT program leads to increased racial profiling, although the TSA does not keep records of the race or ethnicity of those stopped. In 2012, employees at the Logan International Airport in Boston estimated that around 80% of those reported through the SPOT program were ethnic minorities. The SPOT program plays off of the biases that airport employees already have, encouraging them to be more suspicious of people of color.

The TSA will cost Americans $10 billion in 2023. This is far too much to be spending on a security system that doesn’t work, especially when this is money that could be spent on healthcare, welfare, education or infrastructure. Even lighting this money on fire would be a better use of our tax dollars, because the TSA is less than worthless. Not only does it fail to save lives, but it also leads to even more deaths.

Pre-9/11 it was easy to stroll into the airport 30 minutes before takeoff. Now, travelers must carve out two-to-three hours before their flight if they wish to make it through security with time to spare. This has made flying a less appealing option, encouraging people to drive. An economics study out of Cornell University found that post-9/11, extra cars on the road led to more than  300 additional automobile related deaths per month, even after controlling for outside factors such as traffic. While these high numbers have dwindled with time, the economists estimated that an additional 2,300 people died in car accidents from 2001 to 2011.

While it is impossible to know exactly what has pushed people away from flying (fear of terrorism could be a factor), it is hard to ignore the role that the inconvenience of increased security measures may play. For short distances, it is possible that the addition of an hour or two at the airport may be what pushes someone to drive to their destination rather than fly.
I once believed that taking off my coat and shoes at security was the least I could do for the safety of others. Now, I know that it’s my patriotic duty to stand against the ineffective and costly institution that is the TSA. I look forward to the day when I can walk swiftly through airport security with my sweatshirt on and my liquids still in my bag. It’s a humble ambition, but one I hope will someday be realized for everyone who chooses to travel on American soil.