Multi-billionaire Elon Musk offered this Saturday, March 21 to pay the salaries of security checkpoint agents in American airports who, considered essential personnel, are working without pay due to a partial budget paralysis since mid-February.
Multi-billionaire Elon Musk is making a gesture to thousands of officials. He offered this Saturday, March 21 to pay the salaries of security checkpoint agents in American airports who, considered essential personnel, are working without pay due to a partial budget paralysis since mid-February.
“I would like to offer to pay the salaries of (the Transportation Security Administration) TSA employees during the budget impasse that is negatively impacting the lives of so many Americans in the country’s airports,” posted Elon Musk on his network X.
Since February 14, funding for the DHS – the department responsible for security checks in airports – has been frozen due to a deep disagreement between Democrats and Republicans in Congress over immigration enforcement practices (ICE).
Around 50,000 officials affected
Due to this partial “shutdown,” thousands of federal officials from the DHS have been furloughed, while thousands of others, in essential roles, continue to work. In both cases, salaries will not be paid until lawmakers agree on a budget for the DHS, which ICE depends on.
TSA officials – around 50,000 people – have not been fully paid since March 13. According to various estimates, the average annual salary for these agents is $50,000 to $60,000, totaling between $2.5 and $3 billion for an entire year.
As a result of this situation, absenteeism has increased within their ranks – some have taken up other jobs while waiting for lawmakers to agree – while others have resigned.
As a result, security checkpoint lines have grown longer, and it is not uncommon to now have to wait for several hours at American airports to pass through this checkpoint and reach the boarding area.
Elon Musk is the richest person on the planet, with a fortune estimated by the latest annual Forbes ranking – published on March 10 – at $839 billion, up from $342 billion the previous year. “My ‘net worth’ is almost entirely due to the shares held in Tesla and SpaceX,” Elon Musk posted on X in mid-February, claiming to have “less than 0.1% of that in liquidity.”
