Subject: License Fees --- a poll
From: "KØHB"
Date: 8/11/2004 9:25 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id: .net
K4CAP/K4YZ wrote: (about license fees)
I think fees in the $25/year range would not be inappropriate.
So let's take a poll:
Q1: If it cost $250 (plus testing fees) for a 10-year license would you
have become a new amateur radio operator?
--- or ---
Q2: If it had cost $250 to renew your license each time over your ham
radio career, would your license have lapsed by now?
Here are my responses:
Q1: Not a chance.
Q2: When raising a family, spending $250 on a discretionary avocational
item would have been out of the question.
If you had to drop it at once, maybe not. But WHO said "all at once"?
Part of the reason the FCC license structure is at "10 year" intervals now
is that it's too expensive otherwise. You get all those Amateurs chipping in
$25 a year for license every year and watch how fast they'd change THAT.
But there are very few people who CAN'T drop $25 right now for some
recreational purpose.
Most of us are spending about that much A MONTH for ISP service...More for
broadband...So P L E A S E don't try THAT tact, Master Chief. It's baseless.
Furthermore, one only need see that the manufacturers seem to be confident
enough in the financial solvency of the Amateur Radio program in order to do
R&D and subsequently manufacture radios that START a $1500, now as high as $12,
000 or more! And they are right.
Now...if people can afford alcohol, CD's, cigarettes, XBox's and other
"recreational" pursuits, they can also manage to prioritize $25/year for
Amateur Radio if that's what they want to do.
And if THAT is not good enough for you, Hans, we'll get Congress to allow
prorated license fees based on their tax returns.
Or is there some other argument you'd care to pursue?
Steve, K4YZ