The TSA Spent $56.8 Billion To Keep Us Safe. Did It Work?

NUMEROLOGY | Will $56.8 Billion Keep Us Safe? 

Amount: $30 million for machines that puffed air onto travelers and "sniffed" them for explosive residue. Deployment stopped in 2006, after they were deemed slow and unreliable.
Verdict: Not Worth It

Amount: $1.2 billion to fund the Transportation Threat Assessment and Credentialing Program (since 2005), which includes employee background checks. Nonetheless, two TSA agents were busted in February for stealing $160,000 in cash from checked bags.
Verdict: Still Worth It

Amount: $13.5 billion to employ human screeners (since 2007), who have intercepted some 50 million carry-on dangers, including hacksaws, nunchucks, and alligators. The most popular excuse: "Someone else packed my bags for me."
Verdict: Worth It

Amount: $2.8 billion for explosives-detection equipment (since 2007) from companies such as General Electric and L-3 Communications, which in July thwarted one man's plan to fly with a half-ounce of C4.
Verdict: Worth It

Amount: $122 million for full-body scanners from Brijot Imaging Systems, L-3 Communications, Rapiscan Systems, and others. Although the x-ray images aren't supposed to be stored or saved, 100 leaked onto the Internet last November.
Verdict: Tenuously Worth It

Amount: $35 million to retrain human screeners following traveler complaints in 2008. Among the dispensed advice: "Smile, be pleasant, and send positive emotions."
Verdict: Not Worth It

Amount: $103.5 million to breed and train the bomb-sniffing dogs in this year's Puppy Program, which could reduce the need for invasive pat-downs.
Verdict: Maybe Worth It

Amount: $5.5 billion to train and employ air marshals--though the TSA won't reveal how many flights they staff. Per its website, "We should not let terrorists know the mathematical probability" of encountering one.
Verdict: Maybe Worth It