Security Plan
How should we handle the current wave of domestic terrorism? It has been suggested that armed guards at all schools and houses of worship could solve the problem. Let’s estimate what that would cost, never mind its effectiveness.
There are roughly 360,000 houses of worship — 350,000 churches, 4,000 synagogues, and 3,000 mosques. 360,000 times 8 security professionals (24 x 5 x 1 for one weekday guard plus 24 x 2 x 4 for four weekend guards) equals 2.9 million security folks. 130,000 schools would require 13 professionals (24 x 5 x 4 with four guards and 24 x 2 x 1 for one weekend guard) equaling 1.7 million guards. Thus, we need 4.6 million guards.
At a fully loaded cost of $100,000 per person year, this protection would cost $460 billion per year. As a comparison, the total DoD budget is $600 billion. The DHS budget is roughly $50 billion. Perhaps the professional security budget could be added to DHS. The School and Congregation Security Administration (SCSA) could be a new agency. Expensive, but everyone would be able to own an AR-15. The second amendment would be safe.
Another idea. There have been 15 million AR-15s sold in the US. The FBI could monitor each owner 24 x 7, which requires a bit over 4 FTEs per owner. 60 million security professionals would cost $6 trillion annually, roughly half the US GDP. This would yield full employment.
Perhaps we could employ technology to monitor facilities and/or people. Along with your purchase of an AR-15, a monitoring chip is embedded in you brain. It keeps track of everything you do, every thought you have. A single wayward thought and the FBI is instantly at your door with a SWAT team.
On the other hand, perhaps having every school and congregation professionally guarded is a totally ridiculous idea, an idea that sounds plausible until one looks into the details. Yet, if delving into the details is avoided, then the sound bite might seem reasonable. Avoiding the details means you can say anything.
