Editorial Box Score: $390 million
That's roughly how much the cash-strapped federal government lost in airline ticket taxes in the two weeks the Federal Aviation Administration was partially shut down in a budget dispute. Funding approved Friday will allow 74,000 idled workers to get back on the job -- but only through Sept. 16. Long-term funding is still stalled by a congressional fight over a rule change that made it easier for FAA employees to unionize. Is it too much to ask that Congress do its business without throwing people out of work or leaving tax money on the table?