Texas is notoriously averse to taxation. The state legislature hasn't voted on a tax increase since 1991, as Paul Burka notes in his piece about the "T-word." Some local governments have started getting creative to make ends meet. One example: a Houston suburb plans to tax drivers who are at fault in auto collisions.

UNLIKE THE PRICES FOR CARS or hamburgers, the quoted price of an airline ticket includes tax. Most passengers are unaware that those $99 fares are really $90 plus a 10 percent tithe to the federal government that helps pay for the national air traffic control system. Fares are confusing enough without worrying about taxes. As long as everybody pays the same tax, who cares?