...If you think for one microsecond that a main stream government employee takes home what he/she confiscates/scraps you have no clue. Big time jail for theft while in office, other charges and loss of job...
Um, go to Wikipedia and search for "Transportation Security Administration," and...
I would NOT recommend checking them. If they decide they are 'not-allowed' nowadays, they apparently just confiscate them and you have no recourse or argument as the person who inspected and stole it is anonymous and untraceable. The airlines, of course, have changed all of their policies and...