Dec 6, 2007
From the responses to my recent post about the high cost of passports, one thing is clear: the expense prevents some families from traveling
The responses to my recent post about the $97 cost of a U.S. passport (see "Two U.S. Senators have recently questioned the high cost of a U.S. passport, seeking answers as to why such a weighty charge is assessed") have created something of a record for me: 28 often-lengthy comments to date, with more still coming in.
And the comments make many intelligent points, both pro and con. One reader likes the heavy general burdens placed on passport applicants because they discourage child molesters from leaving the U.S. with an abducted child. If those burdens really did have that result, we'd all be happy.
But one unavoidable conclusion stands out: a charge of nearly $100 per person works an unacceptable hardship on families with four and more children. The need to pay out several hundreds of dollars for children's passports is simply an unsupportable burden that prevents many families from even contemplating a road trip to Canada, let alone a lengthier trip. There is no reason why the price couldn't be reduced for large families, and doing so would have no impact on security issues.
Members of Congress should be enlisted to persuade the passport authorities to create a family document issued at a reasonable charge. There simply is no basis for creating a class of people who can't travel because of the high expense of passports.
Write and read comments about this post.
And the comments make many intelligent points, both pro and con. One reader likes the heavy general burdens placed on passport applicants because they discourage child molesters from leaving the U.S. with an abducted child. If those burdens really did have that result, we'd all be happy.
But one unavoidable conclusion stands out: a charge of nearly $100 per person works an unacceptable hardship on families with four and more children. The need to pay out several hundreds of dollars for children's passports is simply an unsupportable burden that prevents many families from even contemplating a road trip to Canada, let alone a lengthier trip. There is no reason why the price couldn't be reduced for large families, and doing so would have no impact on security issues.
Members of Congress should be enlisted to persuade the passport authorities to create a family document issued at a reasonable charge. There simply is no basis for creating a class of people who can't travel because of the high expense of passports.
Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
