The TSA's False Tradeoff

by Bob Murphy at LewRockwell.com:

The national furor over the TSA's new procedures – culminating in yesterday's 'Opt Out Day' – has elicited the typical response from the bureaucracy and its apologists. Why, these invasive scans and 'enhanced pat-downs' are only for your good, in order to ensure safe flying. You don't want another attack, do you?

This is a false tradeoff. Especially in the long run, there is no tension between freedom and safety. If airport security were truly returned to the private sector, air travelers would achieve a much better balance of privacy and legitimate security measures.