Stuck in Europe?

I've been telling family how affordable international travel has become, but either things have changed dramatically in the past few months, or I have amnesia. In looking into fares for travel to the U.S. during December, I found a few "specials" for around $400. The only catch? Taxes and fees, not yet included in this sum, accounted for 40% of the grand total, which ended up being a whopping $781. Since when have taxes and fees accounted for 40%? As much as I'd love to see family, that's a price I'm just not willing to pay... for an economy class ticket. And I suspect fares won't be taking a nose-dive any time soon. Oh well, I guess there are worse places to be "stuck".