OPINION - EDITORIAL

They don't care

Airport security takes a hit

Most of us who have flown in recent months have probably been a little agitated by TSA procedures, body scanners, random searches, etc. It's easy to grow frustrated when you're traveling, and there are more I's to dot and T's to cross than normal. Regardless, our TSA employees have been working without pay for nearly a month now, and a dip in morale wouldn't be quite strong enough to describe the attitudes of some.

You'd probably start to slack off in your job if your paycheck was suddenly withheld for reasons outside your control. After all, an inspired mind once wrote, "The worker deserves his wages." Thanks to agents who didn't follow normal procedures, one passenger from Atlanta was able to bring a gun through security on a flight to Japan. Oops. Other TSA agents have taken to playing uncensored rap music on airport speakers. As if flying isn't stressful enough.

According to Business Insider, TSA agents at JFK have lowered their threshold for "showing up to work" another notch. Here's more from BI:

"Multiple passengers flying out of JFK have shared on Twitter that they've heard the uncensored versions of 'Sicko Mode' by Travis Scott featuring Drake. Such sentiments weren't shared before the government shutdown began on Dec. 22."

Fun fact: That Travis Scott character was arrested in Rogers a couple years back after allegedly inciting a riot during a concert.

This isn't really a laughing matter. These people are supposed to be a line of defense against those who would do harm to flyers. If they're unmotivated because their paychecks are missing, some bad guy might be willing to take a chance on that.

TSA agents are already calling in sick en masse, leading airports in Miami and Houston to close checkpoints and terminals.

Our Coast Guard is also working without pay. Do we really want to risk them lowering their standards as well?

The longer we leave our government shut down, the more unnecessary risk we endure as a country. Here's hoping it doesn't take some disaster to make the two sides in Washington see the light.

Editorial on 01/19/2019

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