Government abuses airport

Alan Cai

April 5, 2024

American governments purport to be an arbiter of equality and enforcer of fairness for all of its citizens. While on one hand, the welfare state and various other initiatives attempt to bridge the gap between the rich and poor or at least give everyone an ostensibly level playing field from which they can catapult their success, on the other, various governments seem to be subscribed to certain programs which serve the opposite purpose.

Imagine this: you’re flying to Mexico for the holidays and are waiting to pass security at the airport. Commonly, you will see that only two or three lines are available for you and your luggage, with a handful of other lines staying practically idle as part of the TSA Pre-Check program or Clear. Accordingly, the fast track lines run quickly while the normal lines run exceptionally slow.

The TSA is not an isolated example, many highways have adopted a paid highway fast track system, which allows drivers to enter a fast track lane by paying a certain fee, which may vary throughout the day. During traffic rush hours, small sections of congested roadway could take hours to pass while those who are financially willing to afford to be on the fast track zoom past everyone else.

If a corporation engaged in a similar practice, offering different levels of comfort or speed for different prices, the business model could be regarded as legitimate and flexible, allowing for different levels of customers to enjoy different tiers of commodity quality. For example, in airplanes, it is perfectly fair that people who are willing to dish out the extra wads of cash can take larger seats and more refreshments while those who are more frugal can accommodate less elaborate but still essentially functional flights. However, governments are not businesses and should exist to serve the needs of all of their citizens. It is vastly inappropriate for governments to set aside portions of the public domain for paying customers only.

There are three major issues with the government harnessing these divisive practices whether at the national or local level. The first is that it widens the gap between the rich and poor, creating a wealth gradient of sorts that benefits those with wealth and hurts those without. According to Hammurabi, the purpose of the government is to protect the powerless from the powerful. By utilizing divisive measures at airports and on highways, the government is unfairly handing undue benefits to the rich while disenfranchising the poor. It is important to note that these classifications are made upon the assumption that the wealthy are more able and willing to purchase these government-provided luxuries but note that this is not always the case.

The second major problem is that the gradient created by the government slows processes down for people who are unwilling to take on the additional costs. At an airport with four checkpoints, two of which are used for TSA Pre-check or clearing passengers, the regular line will only run roughly half as fast as it would if it would if the fast track option did not exist. In this manner, the government inadvertently, or perhaps purposely, engendered even more demand for its paid option by making the entire system run extremely inefficiently. The primary symptom of a failed government is when resources lie unused while the people wait painstakingly long to ration artificially limited resources.

The third and final major issue with the government promoting price-based benefits is that it is an intrinsically unfair misappropriation of public property. If governments used taxpayer funds to build the airports and highways, it would undoubtedly be an abuse of power to only allow certain paying customers to use them.

Realistically, a fast-track lane on a highway or in an airport is not the end of the world. Nevertheless, as with all things government-related, it’s a matter of the message it sends and the precedent it sets. The government engaging in such activities sends the message that it is willing to distribute public services to those willing to pay for it to the detriment of those who do not. All levels of the American government must work to change the status quo to ensure a more perfect and equitable future.