I think we need to emphasize that it's unfair to load the entire cost on passengers. Consider: if the terrorists targeted pre-schools, would Congress demand that parents pay extra taxes to cover security? If they targeted hospitals would we tax the patients? I think not.

The fact is that, regardless of the target, the additional security (leaving aside questions of its effectiveness) is a burden of national defense, and should be paid for out of that budget.

My personal opinion is that pre-September security is more than adequate to the post-September threat. The crucial difference is that we know better than to sit still for a hijacking. I'd rather see the feds cut all the extra funding and the taxes and the lines, but I suppose that's politically impossible.