The standard answer is that airplane travel, just as being able to drive on public roads is not a right. Founding fathers apparently failed in their inability to predict we'd be able to amazingly fly through the air one day. So it is not in the Constitution. Therefore please step right into the Rapeyscan machine if you want to make it to your job interview, or to see your family across country.
It seems to claim a right to travel unimpeded you'd have to walk, on public land, or ride a horse or bicycle. Basically what you might have done 200 years ago.
I think a traditional interpretation of the constitution is that unenumerated rights are reserved for the people, so this shouldn't be an issue, as designed. In reality, we can't even seem to maintain the rights that are explicitly reserved for the people (cough4th amendmentcough).
The Department of Homeland Security (of which the TSA is a part of) has a budget and its priorities are set in Congress. There is no "profit" motive here.
The US is throwing money at this problem, and money that only creates inconveniences for us.
I also consider my time to be more valuable.
That costs money. Many people take the train or a shuttle or lean on a friend.
>I walk up to the security checkpoint checkpoint, where I show the agent my phone. They see my boarding pass with the green checkmark and send me to the empty TSA Pre line. I walk through the metal detector with no adjustments to my attire.
You paid for that TSA PreCheck privilege which, while not in the grand scheme a large amount, is technically something.
It's also beside the point. TSA PreCheck is the result of a careful plan:
1. Make everyone undergo an intrusive, invasive, and time-consuming process that provides little to no additional security.
2. Allow people to pay for the privilege of not going through that procedure.
3. Profit!
I don't do PreCheck because buying your rights is not something we should be able or have to do. It's a perversion that leaves us happy to pay for something that was commonplace until 9/10/01.