Booting Earth Optimization System
Thank you for your patience. Your civilization is very important to us.
Thank you for your patience. Your civilization is very important to us.
Agency Report Card
Protect the nation's transportation systems
Protect the nation's transportation systems
2006 Liquid bomb plot (UK) — TSA bans liquids >3.4oz. Still banned 18 years later. ↗
2010 Underwear bomber — $1B spent on full-body scanners. GAO finds 'limited evidence of effectiveness.' ↗
2015 DHS Red Team gets 67 of 70 weapons through TSA checkpoints undetected (95% failure rate) ↗
Graded on checkpoint firearm discoveries, which rose sixfold (1,123 in 2010 → 6,678 in 2024) while the budget went from $1.2B (FY2002) to $10.9B (FY2024). The count tracks how many passengers carry guns as much as how well TSA screens. DHS Inspector General covert tests in 2015 got simulated weapons and explosives past checkpoints in 67 of 70 attempts (95%).
| Year | TSA total budget authority, enacted (nominal USD, fiscal year; excludes supplementals) | Firearms discovered in carry-on bags at TSA checkpoints (calendar year) |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | $1.24B | – |
| 2004 | $4.58B | – |
| 2006 | $6.17B | – |
| 2008 | $6.81B | – |
| 2010 | $7.66B | 1,123 |
| 2012 | $7.86B | 1,556 |
| 2014 | $7.42B | 2,212 |
| 2016 | $7.54B | 3,391 |
| 2018 | $7.89B | 4,244 |
| 2020 | $8.3B | 3,257 |
| 2022 | $9B | 6,542 |
| 2024 | $10.9B | 6,678 |
“We don't have one”
Annual global military spending (SIPRI 2024)
Dollars on weapons per dollar on curing disease
Economic multiplier per dollar. Healthcare returns 3.5×.
Post-WWII deaths from US military operations alone
Were terrorist attacks on US soil declining before TSA was created?
Were terrorist attacks on US soil declining before TSA was created?
Domestic terrorism incidents were already declining through the 1980s and 1990s. The major pre-TSA attacks (1993 WTC, 1995 OKC) were NOT prevented by the security that existed at the time. Post-TSA, GAO red teams got 67 of 70 test weapons through checkpoints (95% failure rate).
Domestic terrorism incidents were already declining through the 1980s and 1990s. The major pre-TSA attacks (1993 WTC, 1995 OKC) were NOT prevented by the security that existed at the time. Post-TSA, GAO red teams got 67 of 70 test weapons through checkpoints (95% failure rate).
“Eleven billion dollars a year to take your shoes off. The Homeland Security Inspector General sent undercover testers through checkpoints, and 67 of 70 got fake weapons and explosives past screeners. On my planet, we would call this an extremely expensive placebo.”
On a well-run planet, this agency would have been deprecated centuries ago. Here is what replaces it.
Department of Peace — Department of Defense (née Department of War)