The reaction to the national financial crisis has been different in details but similar in its general thrust: "This just proves I was right all along," seems to be the nearly universal response. We echo the sentiment but in a different context: ZIP codes.

When Henrico proposed a change in the mailing address to correct discrepancies in tax disbursements, we recognized that the claim had merit and noted that similar problems probably occurred with other jurisdictions. Indeed, at about the same time that Henrico was surveying some of its residents, Virginians learned that Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania faced their own ZIP code conundrum. We suggested the issue cried out for comprehensive redress at the state level.

Now Chesterfield is drawing up plans to straighten out its own ZIP/tax mess. County officials estimate that Chesterfield is losing as much as $2.2 million a year because some residents and businesses in Chesterfield have mailing addresses that seem to place them in Richmond, Petersburg, or Colonial Heights.

Virginia's uniquely bifurcated city/county system might contribute to the problem, which arises most frequently in the context of mail-order sales. The state needn't throw that system out for just this reason, although plenty of other reasons for changing it present themselves. But the independent-city structure that contributes to the problem is a creature of state creation, and the state should shoulder the responsibility of addressing its effects.