The Department of Transportation (DOT) is responsible for air traffic controllers since Ronald Reagan federalized them, and now more than 30,000 new baggage security people, but it also collects a tax from every passenger to help in the municipal repair and maintenance of airports. Last year it was necessary to cash in some of its "holdings."

In fiscal 2002, taxpayers replaced $3.8 billion in taxes plus interest that had already been paid by travelers once before. This double taxation is happening now and is expected to continue.

Here's the way it worked in fiscal 2002:

At the close of fiscal 2001, the Airports & Airways black hole debit account held a total of $14 billion in "special" Treasury nonmarketable bonds.

By the close of fiscal 2002, last September 30th, the DOT had withdrawn $3 billion from this so-called trust fund and the real money came out of the U.S. Treasury's general fund of tax receipts on hand. Citizens did without three billion in goods and services they might otherwise have received unless, of course, the government borrowed that three billion from investors, in which case payment was just put off and is a future tax.

If we thought that this $3 billion were the end of the story, we would be forgetting the interest that was paid the trust fund during fiscal 2002, no cash involved.

At the close of fiscal 2001, this fund held $14 billion in a rounded figure. During fiscal 2002, interest was paid against this balance by simply handing the trust more bogus bonds. The "average" interest rate for the year was 5.997 percent (0.05997 percent).

That means the trust received another $800 million ($0.8 billion) in interest during the fiscal year. The drop in trust fund holdings does not reflect this, but it was also spent or withdrawn from the Treasury