On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 23:51:06 GMT, garigue wrote:

Personally, I believe Amateur Radio Licenses should cost $75 per year for
regulatory fees and the Commission should elimanate testing. I also
believe that is how it will eventually be in the near future.

You have an excellent suggestion there regarding the 75 bucks a year. That
would get the Feds the kind of enforcement clout that would have all the
echo chambers, illegal KW users, freebanders, shrimp boat screw-ups, 25
alternator pick-ups, 10 meter truckers, illegal 11 meter bums ETC. running
for the hills, burying their illegal rigs under the manure pile and getting
into leather working or beanie babies.

You assume that the $75 or whatever the fee is would go to the
Commission earmarked for amateur enforcement. The Congress would
never let it happen that way. Those fees go directly to the U S
Treasury for whatever purpose The Congress and the Administration
uses them. Look at all the money vacuumed up by the spectrum auctions.

The enforcement WAS that way.

Only because the powers-that-be understood why it had to be that
way and were willing to put people in there who believed that way
and could get it done as well. Sadly, those days and to a great
extent the folks who could get the job done properly are gone.

Also the testing could be given back to the FCC where it
belonged in the first place where, like I said before, shenanigans could
be minimized.

The powers-that-be don't want it back and will do everything in
their power to make sure that it doesn't come back - all in the name
of "privitization". I fought that battle 15 years ago and still
have the scars.....

--
73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane