Friday, April 10, 2015

Loose Change

Did you know that the TSA pockets the misplaced change that gets left behind at the security checkpoints of the nation's airports?

I mean, I guess it makes sense; a certain amount of coinage is going to turn up in any Lost 'n' Found and it's not like they're just going to throw it away. And the Thousands Standing Around do have a lot of Lost 'n' Founds...

Last year they apparently pocketed more than two thirds of a million dollars in abandoned change at the nation's airports. Lest you think that this unexpected windfall would somehow help fund the Federal Mall Cop Jobs Program and reduce the burden on the taxpayers, I'll remind you that $675,000 doesn't exactly buy a whole bunch of GS-15s these days. It's not even a rounding error on the Security Theater budget.

ETA: Incidentally, last time I went through a TSA checkpoint, I got to see what the Transportation Security Administration's  maternity uniform looked like. Also, walking with a cane and being probably 100lbs overweight was not enough to put another officer on light duty; he was still there manning the barricades. Let me tell you how safe I felt. "Tell you what, Officer Third Trimester, how about you let us carry the guns through here and I'll take my chances with Johnny Jihadi on my own? Because if someone suddenly went all Aloha Snackbar in here, Officer Gimpy McCruller over there's best and highest use would be as a ballistic shield."