The TSA made half a million dollars last year because you forgot your change

The next time you go through airport security, check those gray and white bins where you unload your pockets. Last year, the Transportation Security Administration collected $531,395.22 in change left behind at checkpoints.

The TSA made half a million dollars last year because you forgot your change

And this is the reported amount.

The money should be donated to cancer research for all the X-rays endured.

reply to post by eggman90


From the OP source. Apparently they find and collect the money but are slow in spending it. The U.S. House has passed a bill to make them spend it.

Current law requires the TSA spend that money on providing civil aviation security — essentially, to supplement its overall mission. But so far, the TSA has only spent about $6,500 of the money it collected last year. The TSA report to Congress says the agency spent that money on the translation of some airport checkpoint signage into foreign languages and on miscellaneous administrative overhead.

The slow rate of spending has some in Congress pushing for a, um, change.

On Tuesday, the House passed H.R. 1095, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), which would require the TSA to fork that cash over to nonprofit organizations that provide travel-related assistance to military personnel or their families.

Shouldn't they be the ones to leave money behind (maybe on the nightstand) for all the groping and grabbing they get to do?

I have never flown. I don't plan on ever flying, but this got under my skin because they don't need anymore money than they already get. It's almost like folks are tipping them for invading their personal space, feeling them up, etc.

I agree that it should be donated. They definitely do not need further funding for their "extracurricular" activities.

From the same source:

A similar measure Miller introduced in the last Congress, H.R. 2179, would have awarded the money to United Service Organizations, Inc., the nonprofit that runs in-airport lounges for military personnel. The Congressional Budget Office estimated [pdf] that collecting, accounting for and transferring the money to the USO would cost $1.2 million — $700,000 more than the actual amount collected.

Without skipping a beat, the CBO(?!) who of course is the presiding authority on the matter, estimates it would cost lotsa coin, more than what is collected, to "manage" the loose change.

Guess just having the TSA cut a check to a charity for the matching amount is not within the scope of the CBO "estimate"?

People lose money.

Sewage treatment plants get thousands of dollars a year just in flushed change.

If you pick up all the change you see, you can make an average of 200 bucks a year.

How many people lose money in their laundry?

So considering how many people travel, this figure of lost money sounds just about right.

Its not the TSAs fault that people can't track of their money.

reply to post by eggman90
Funny thing, I had put my carry-on, etc, through the scanner at Varadero airport in Cuba. A little later, I realised I had forgotten my change in the tray and figured I'd go back since I like to have a handful of pesos for the next trip. I had figured that my chances of retrieving the dough were low...but I had some time on my hands. To my surprise, the customs guys had set the coins on top of the scanner and enthusiastically returned them. The results left me with an even greater regard for the people of Cuba.

Looking forward to my return...and buying a beer for the ride to the resort.

reply to post by eggman90


WOW

now lets put that in perspective

the passenger tally for 2012 was : 736 million

source

or in other words - 1 passenger in 1472 left one cent [ averaged ]

WOW

I cannot find a sarcastic emote

Hey, the TSA is a Federal Agency. The White House is a Federal Property.

How much did they say it would take to fund White House tours and open them back to the public? Hmm... I think there may be a useful place to spend their "found" fortune. Of course, that has logic to it, so it won't enter a single bureaucratic mind.

Instead of instructing the TSA to make sure passengers reunite with all their belongings in the trays, they instruct them to collect the belongings, and spend them.

...Is this a joke?

eggman90
The next time you go through airport security, check those gray and white bins where you unload your pockets.

Hint for travellers:



Resealable plastic bag for change, keys, usb drives, and whatever other stuff you have in your pockets.

Yes, you will have time to do this while waiting in line.

reply to post by nixie_nox


If you use a public laundromat and find yourself waiting for your laundry in a laundromat where little or no patrons are hanging out (patrons might wonder what you are up to) casually check the lint traps in the driers that are not in use, that s where the paper $ goes.