TSA's Million-Dollar Windfall

I guess this is the federal equivalent of finding some spare change in the couch cushions -- a lot of spare change. The Transportation Administration has collected more than $1 million in coins left by passengers in plastic bins at airport screening stations around the country since October 2004, USA Today reports.

Los Angeles International Airport was the runaway leader in coin collecting, taking in nearly $90,000 from Sept. 30, 2004, to Oct. 1, 2007. By contrast, pennywise travelers at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport left behind only a total of $1.20 last year.

TSA gets to keep the money, rather than turn it in to the Treasury, to help cover the costs of airport security. I'm sure most travelers are happy to fill the agency's tip jar. Right?