Tracking Your Taxes: Is Essential Air Service Really Essential? - Political News - FOXNews.com

Tracking Your Taxes: Is Essential Air Service Really Essential? - Political News - FOXNews.com: "Critics say the program is out of control. Subsidies were supposed to be no higher than $200 per ticket for cities less than 210 miles from a sizable airport, but in practice, the limit is not enforced.

Consider these ticket prices and taxpayer subsidies:

-- Cape Girardeau, Mo., to St. Louis: ticket price $189, taxpayer subsidy $1,939.

-- Glendive Mont., to Billings: ticket price $233, taxpayer subsidy $2,526.

-- Alamogordo, N.M., to Albuquerque: ticket price $192, taxpayer subsidy $2,270

-- Harve, Mont., to Billings: ticket price $233, �taxpayer subsidy, $2887

-- Ely, Nev., to Denver: ticket price $300, taxpayer subsidy $4,504.

The program serves roughly 3,000 people per day -- �mostly businessmen, who critics argue can and should pay more for their flight. Instead, Congress continues to increase the taxpayers' portion of the ticket."