There's a fundamental problem with your argument.
"TSA agents need to be paid better to get people who are meticulous in doing their work while respecting our rights to privacy.
Perhaps, but will more money automatically result in more alert, meticulous employees? I'd argue that it wouldn't.
The problem is that "airport security" is a long, boring, tedious job. People who you might otherwise classify as "intelligent" would probably not do any better than it; perhaps worse, simply because it is so tedious and boring that they'd soon tune out.
Years ago I was discussing this with someone making this same point, and I had to ask "How much would the TSA have to pay in order for you to quit your current job and do that instead"? There was no answer, because the individual involved already made far more than the TSA was likely ever to pay, and the unpleasantness of the job itself made many careers, even many paying much less far more desirable.
The problem with TSA work is that it combines the tediousness of an old-style assembly line job with the need for alertness and quick thinking. That's a very tough combination to fulfill. I'm not sure how to achieve that.
