[AMRadio] Something to ponder while the filaments are warming up. was: Good News

[Jim Wilhite]

Frankly I am happy about this decision.  To renew a non-vanity license has 
not cost a thing, but if you  received a vanity call there  was a fee every 
time you renewed.  In the beginning they discussed establishing a fee for 
the initial application then following that, there would be no fee.  That 
didn't go over so well because the fee proposal ranged from around $50 to 
100 and us cheap hams didn't want to pay that exorbitant amount.  So, since 
the inception of the vanity program we have paid a fee to apply and a fee 
every time we renewed.

All the real work is in the initial application and grant.  Now those of us 
who have vanity calls will not be charged to simply renew, and remember 
guys, they no longer send paper licenses automatically, you have to request 
one.  I think all that can be done when you renew online, or if you make a 
modification on  line one may be generated.
Jim
W5JO


-----Original Message----- 

Absolutely amazing!
So a while back the Congress authorized government departments to collect 
fees to cover the expense of their specific activities serving citizens 
(many of whom already pay taxes for the departments to service their needs.)
So the FCC sets up a fee schedule to cover the cost of issuing vanity call 
licenses.  Over the years this fee increases to the current $21.40.
Now the FCC discovers that it costs more than $21.40 to process the fees and 
proposes eliminating the fee to save money!  Only in our government, which 
has the power to set fees,  could they develop a system that costs more to 
process the fees than the fees generate and claim a cost savings by 
eliminating the collection of a fee. Amazing!
In the meanwhile, the cost of issuing the vanity call licenses continues but 
without the FCC trying to collect a specific fee to cover the expense of 
issuing the license.   What happened to the original goal of covering the 
expense of issuing the licenses?  The FCC is now going to spread that across 
the other license fees.  That doesn't seem to follow the spirit of the 
direction from Congress to have the service paid for by the citizen 
receiving the service. Oh well, probably the current Congress won't notice 
or care since that idea was developed by an earlier Congress and who knows 
what they might have been thinking.
Wonder if anyone in the FCC even thought of changing the system so the fee 
is not collected until the license is about to be awarded thus eliminating 
the need to refund fees?  Nah.......
Something to ponder while the filaments are warming up.