I'm not sure about US citizens but of all the places I travel to, the experience of entering the US is the worst of all. I'm a UK citizen and we supposedly have a visa arrangement that should negate any hassle but it frequently takes more than an hour to clear border control.
During which time you have sniffer dogs almost clawing you and really aggressive questioning. I'm sure this must have a negative effect on the tourism industry as most people I know have had similar experiences.
I've just come back from traveling around Asia and they seem to take the opposite approach and employ polite and helpful people to work in border security, often when you're traveling this is the first impression you get of a country and bad experiences really leave a bad taste.
The U.S. border is awful. It was awful when I used to travel under visa waiver and if anything it got worse when I got my green card (currently fingerprinting, soon iris scans, in addition to abusive questioning). Edit: it is like a welcome mat that has dog vomit on it and spells FUCK YOU. I really appreciate it, makes me feel right at home.
Citizens are in a slightly better position as the fellow demonstrated but the U.S. border is worse than any of the other 35 or so that I have crossed.
I'm a US citizen, and while I don't share the pain you describe, I do feel like it's easier and more pleasant (for me) to get into other countries than to get back into my own.
Interestingly, that's about the exact experience I had as an American flying into London City. The UK is one of the most obnoxious border I've ever crossed (Nicaragua was worse, but that was a lot more complicated because I was bringing in a vehicle).
In my experience it depends largely on the airport you're flying into in the US. Dulles, Philly, and any of the NYC airports all see to be the worst. Seatac, SFO, Houston, and LAX aren't really that bad in my experience.
During which time you have sniffer dogs almost clawing you and really aggressive questioning. I'm sure this must have a negative effect on the tourism industry as most people I know have had similar experiences.
I've just come back from traveling around Asia and they seem to take the opposite approach and employ polite and helpful people to work in border security, often when you're traveling this is the first impression you get of a country and bad experiences really leave a bad taste.