Robert W. Hahn

Aviation security measures are costly and ineffective, argues Robert W. Hahn in the following viewpoint. According to Hahn, the plan issued by the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security in September 1996 is flawed. Hahn maintains that these proposals—including baggage screening and passenger profiling—will increase travel delays. In addition, he asserts, such procedures will be expensive and save few lives, because the policies will not have a significant impact on the behavior of terrorists. Hahn is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a public policy organization that researches government and private enterprise issues.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What delay cost cannot be quantified easily, in Hahn’s view?
2. As cited by the author, what dollar-value does the Federal Aviation...