It is. Enter Secure Flight, the latest waste of time from the ever-useless TSA. Conceptually, it’s at least not counterproductive: they want to make the no-fly and extra screening watchlists more selective, by accounting for age and gender as well as name. However, they remain true to form by implementing the idea terribly.

Here’s the idea: every traveler must submit their full name, their date of birth, and their gender when purchasing a ticket. The airline collates a list of these and submits it to the TSA, where it is compared to the watchlists.

Here are the problems. First, no airline ticket purchasing system is designed to collect all of this information. That could be fixed, but the TSA is rolling out the program slowly on a per-airline basis with no advance notice or public oversight, requiring each of them to send these scammy-looking emails after the fact of purchase to collect this information without which the ticket becomes void.

Second, the filtering is done by computer, so it requires the traveler’s exact name. The problem here is that few if any people write their name exactly the same way on every document. I buy airline tickets using my first and last name. Some of my identification documents have my full middle name, some include just an initial. Sometimes, as in my upcoming flight, I won’t have any formal identification documents at all, just military leave paperwork. (Fun fact: I’ve flown to and from Korea three times so far with nothing more than an 8.5×11″ sheet of paper with a form and some scribbled signatures on it. Mine is authentic. The TSA has never actually verified that it was.) Plenty of people have more than three names. Designing the system such that it can be defeated by leaving out an initial renders it nearly useless.

Finally, if you’ve got my name, gender, and birth date, you’re halfway to stealing my identity. I am not comfortable surrendering this information to an organization that has reliably provided security theatre at the expense of actual security. To do much with a stolen identity, you also need at least part of a social security number; I suspect that anyone in a position to misuse the passenger information collected through this program will also have access to resources which can provide that.

Will I submit, and provide the TSA with everything it demands? Yes. Commercial flight is still the only option both fast enough to provide international travel within my leave time and cheap enough to be affordable. However, every time I fly within the US, I am more and more disinclined to ever repeat the experience.

Is the ability to carry a soda onto an airplane an essential liberty? Perhaps not, in the larger scheme of things. However, it is a convenience whose denial seems out of proportion to the scale of the threat. It’s hard to judge the success of an agency like the TSA; the only evidence generally available to the public is negative: they haven’t failed yet. On the other hand, they’ve increased the hassle and annoyance of flight for millions of people every year. We put up with it, I think, because of the fear that they are in fact doing their job properly, that without their services, someone would immediately bomb a plane and show us all.

Car crashes are rare events for any individual. In many states, it is mandatory to wear seatbelts; they are a minor inconvenience which do in fact save lives on the rare occasions that they are needed. I prefer New Hampshire’s policy, though: until the age of majority, seatbelts are mandatory, but as soon as you become an adult, you are free to take your life into your own hands.

What might happen if airlines were free to implement their own security policies? They might all choose to adopt a single policy and follow the lead of the government. I would hope for a different path, though, in which natural variation might spring up. Some airlines might adopt extremely stringent policies, become fortresses in the sky, and mark their brand the king of security. Others might invest in subtler measures: armored cockpit doors and smart screening machines. I can’t say what effect this might have on the price, but I do know one thing: I would choose to fly on the latter sort of airline. I am willing to accept a tiny risk in exchange for a pleasant experience; I’m willing to take a large risk for a great one. It’s why I want to skydive; it’s why I like to ski; it’s why I plan to get a motorcycle license. Am I really alone in being willing to make that exchange?