Can a program like Global Entry that subjects you to a background check and stores your biometric data ever work in favor of the traveler?

Does Global Entry work? Here’s what the government doesn’t want you to know

When the federal government proposed a trusted traveler system years ago, I got into an argument with a well-known travel writer.

He claimed a program like Global Entry that subjected you to a background check and stored your biometric data would never work. He argued that the government had no interest in collecting that information and keeping close tabs on its citizens.