The majority are pretty idiots (much more then pictured in movies), but some who pretend to have some ethics think, for example, that thanks to the mafia italy did not became a communist country (it's not my own opinion, it's history... they really do!)
The longer time you spend there the more $$ you leave there: shops pays a huge rent, and I have no doubt one statistic Airport use to raise rents is the average time we spend inside the airport (by the number of passengers, of course).