Its not a question of abuse of power anymore. The PATRIOT Act has already given them unlimited power with no checks. Might as well have them use some of their power for something that benefits consumers.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to start trying to take away power from the government then?
It's a good case for reducing our defense budget, but if we get rid of our government then we no longer have a way to regulate the market. If we had better consumer protections then this wouldn't be a problem (surprise surprise - we don't).
The linked article wasn’t about defense. It was about state and local police invading privacy.