See, that's part of the problem in terms of economic calculation when dealing with a surveillance society -> since it's largely impossible to quantify the amount of lost business due to various surveillance / justice actions, as the methods and individual events in which such actions took place may never see the light of day, a society could be going bankrupt due to an overly large security division, and never know it.
Let's consider a real-life plausible scenario: a DEA agent gets a tip from a questionable source about a large shipment of Molly coming in tonight on the docks (cliche, but let's roll with it). The information isn't good enough to get a warrant, but the DEA hasn't had a bust in a while, and the agents are being pressured to find something to justify their jobs. This DEA agent figures that it wouldn't hurt to have a look around (nothing illegal there, right?), and spotting nothing immediately out on the docks, begins to think that it's a bust. The agent notices that an upper window is open on one of the warehouses, and that there are voices being heard within; it would take a little effort, shimmying up the side, but the agent could peak through the window (questionable)...and maybe even climb inside if the agent sees something. The agent climbs up, and hears rising voices from within. Not seeing anyone, the agent climbs in.
The agent, walking on top of some crates, sees the owners of the voices, and after listening for several moments, realizes that it's just a typical worker's spat. The agent goes to leave, not seeing anything of interest...but as the agent moves, one of the crates topples, pushing the one in front of it, and so on in a domino fashion. The agent manages to leave undiscovered, but not before $30 million in Lowe's Italian Chandeliers are dropped three stories onto a hard concrete floor.
The workers will be blamed for not stacking the crates correctly, and the owner of the warehouse cited. The insurance company will, of course, cover the costs of the damaged merchandise. However, the cost to society, for this overstep, was more than a minor civil rights violation...it was more than those workers make in a decade, possibly their lives.
And that's kind of at the heart of these infringements...when the intelligence agencies screw up, when the police screw up, it's not like they're shouldered with that debt; it's charged to society as the cost of doing business...no different from what the bankers did recently when they 'privatized the gains, and socialized the losses.'
See, that's part of the problem in terms of economic calculation when dealing with a surveillance society -> since it's largely impossible to quantify the amount of lost business due to various surveillance / justice actions, as the methods and individual events in which such actions took place may never see the light of day, a society could be going bankrupt due to an overly large security division, and never know it.
Let's consider a real-life plausible scenario: a DEA agent gets a tip from a questionable source about a large shipment of Molly coming in tonight on the docks (cliche, but let's roll with it). The information isn't good enough to get a warrant, but the DEA hasn't had a bust in a while, and the agents are being pressured to find something to justify their jobs. This DEA agent figures that it wouldn't hurt to have a look around (nothing illegal there, right?), and spotting nothing immediately out on the docks, begins to think that it's a bust. The agent notices that an upper window is open on one of the warehouses, and that there are voices being heard within; it would take a little effort, shimmying up the side, but the agent could peak through the window (questionable)...and maybe even climb inside if the agent sees something. The agent climbs up, and hears rising voices from within. Not seeing anyone, the agent climbs in.
The agent, walking on top of some crates, sees the owners of the voices, and after listening for several moments, realizes that it's just a typical worker's spat. The agent goes to leave, not seeing anything of interest...but as the agent moves, one of the crates topples, pushing the one in front of it, and so on in a domino fashion. The agent manages to leave undiscovered, but not before $30 million in Lowe's Italian Chandeliers are dropped three stories onto a hard concrete floor.
The workers will be blamed for not stacking the crates correctly, and the owner of the warehouse cited. The insurance company will, of course, cover the costs of the damaged merchandise. However, the cost to society, for this overstep, was more than a minor civil rights violation...it was more than those workers make in a decade, possibly their lives.
And that's kind of at the heart of these infringements...when the intelligence agencies screw up, when the police screw up, it's not like they're shouldered with that debt; it's charged to society as the cost of doing business...no different from what the bankers did recently when they 'privatized the gains, and socialized the losses.'