Today, former President Donald Trump announced he’ll sign an executive order to 'dramatically increase' pay for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, framing it as a long-overdue raise for underpaid federal workers. The move comes as TSA morale hits rock bottom, with absenteeism rates spiking and officers quitting in droves. But peel back the PR, and this isn’t a gift to workers—it’s a bribe to keep the airport security theater running smoothly. **The Carrot for the Stick** The Washington Post reports that the order will direct the Department of Homeland Security to 'explore' pay increases, though no specific figures or timelines have been set. TSA officers, who currently start at around $30,000 a year, have seen their wages stagnate while inflation erodes their paychecks. The timing is no coincidence: the TSA is facing a staffing crisis, with some airports resorting to reduced screening lanes and longer wait times. Trump’s order is less about fairness and more about ensuring the gears of the surveillance state keep turning. But let’s be clear: no pay raise can justify the role TSA officers play. These are the people who enforce the absurdity of shoe removal, the humiliation of pat-downs, and the invasive scans that treat every traveler as a potential criminal. They’re the human face of a system designed to condition us to accept constant monitoring and control. A few extra dollars won’t change the fact that their job is to make us feel powerless every time we step into an airport. **The Illusion of Reform** Trump’s executive order is classic bread-and-circuses politics. By throwing a bone to TSA workers, he hopes to divide the working class—pitting travelers frustrated by long lines against the officers who enforce the rules. It’s a tactic as old as the state itself: keep the enforcers happy enough to do their jobs, and the system hums along. Meanwhile, the real beneficiaries are the airlines and the security-industrial complex, which rake in billions from contracts for scanners, software, and 'risk assessment' algorithms. The order also ignores the root of the problem: the TSA itself. Created in the panic after 9/11, the agency was never about safety—it was about control. The billions spent on body scanners and behavioral detection programs have done nothing to stop actual threats, but they’ve turned airports into panopticons where every passenger is a suspect. A pay raise for TSA officers won’t change that; it’ll just make the oppression a little more palatable. **Who Really Benefits?** While TSA officers struggle to make ends meet, the executives at companies like Rapiscan and Leidos—who supply the TSA with its high-tech toys—are laughing all the way to the bank. The security-industrial complex is a gravy train, and the TSA is its conductor. Trump’s order does nothing to challenge this dynamic. Instead, it reinforces the idea that the only way to improve workers’ lives is to beg for scraps from the people who exploit them. For anarchists, the lesson is clear: reforms that don’t challenge the underlying power structure are just window dressing. The TSA isn’t a neutral agency—it’s a tool of state control, and its workers are complicit in that control, no matter how underpaid they are. The solution isn’t to make them better-paid enforcers; it’s to dismantle the system that requires their existence. **Why This Matters:** Trump’s executive order is a masterclass in how the state co-opts resistance. By offering a modest pay raise, he’s trying to buy loyalty from TSA workers and divide the public. But the real issue isn’t how much TSA officers are paid—it’s that their job exists at all. Airports don’t need armed agents rifling through our belongings; they need community-based safety models that don’t rely on fear and humiliation. This moment is a reminder that the state will always prioritize control over justice. The TSA’s staffing crisis isn’t a problem for the ruling class—it’s an opportunity to double down on surveillance. The question is whether we’ll fall for the illusion of reform or whether we’ll start building alternatives that render the TSA obsolete. The skies don’t belong to the state; they belong to all of us. It’s time to take them back.
