Schneier slams US border biometrics

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the real question isn't whether it works at all.

The real question is cost-effectiveness, either in terms of
lives saved or lives and infrastructure or lives,
infrastructure and intangibles like "overall sense of well-
being" and "geopolitical effectiveness."

We know that people tend to massively overestimate the
personal risk from dramatic and unexpected events, and
underestimate the risks from more "boring" sources. Part
of the job of a government is to do the analysis. Making
decisions based on panic, rather than common sense, is
not good policy for Republicans, Democrats, or anyone
else.

If we spent that $15 billion on alternative energy, would
that save more lives (cleaner energy), reduce terrorism
more effectively (less money and less geopolitical power to
countries that have produced international terrorists or
funded terrorism) and make people feel safer? I don't
know that it would, but it's a valid question. How about
putting the money into health care? Bridges and sea
dikes? In each case, there's a cost, there are lives saved,
and there are other priorities ignored.

My suspicion is that there are more cost-effective ways to
deal with the risk of terrorism. After all, we lived without
biometrics for decades, without significant terrorist activity
on US soil--DESPITE the existence of explosives, planes,
and criminal masterminds.

In contrast, there are not too many alternatives to fixing
crumbling bridges. Maybe if we label them "inanimate
domestic terrorist cells" we could get more of them fixed
before they wreak havoc by falling on our heads, or out
from under our feet.

Posted by: Joy_in_Pgh   Posted on: 11/13/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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