Everyone has been conditioned to pay more fees and taxes , yet receive less benefit from said fees and taxes.
It's called "inflation".
I've been an Extra for over 50 years. Had my present call for 43 years.
How am I receiving less benefit from my license now than in the past?
I don't buy the argument that it's "unfair" that our licensure is part of the budget.( It's always been that way!)
No it hasn't. Here's proof: (Note the period from 1964 to 1977.)
In 1933, the FRC (predecessor of the FCC) proposed a fee of $5 ($100.17 in 2019 dollars) for amateur operator licenses. In those days operator license terms were 3 years. This proposal was strongly opposed and was not enacted.
In 1954, the FCC proposed a fee of $3 ($28.93 in 2019 dollars) for amateur licenses. In those days, and until the early 1980s, license terms were 5 years. This proposal was strongly opposed and was not enacted.
In the early 1960s the FCC again proposed fees for amateur licenses, and this time the proposal was enacted despite strong opposition. The original effective date of January 1, 1964 was delayed a few months by a legal challenge, but by mid-March, 1964 the following fees were enacted:
New or renewed license: $4 ($33.45 in 2019 dollars)
Modified license: $2 ($16.72)
Special callsign: $20 ($167.25)
Novice and RACES licenses remained free.
Effective August 1, 1970, the FCC raised the above fees for amateur licenses to the following:
New or renewed license: $9 ($60.09 in 2019 dollars)
Modified license: $4 ($26.71)
Special callsign: $25 ($166.92)
Novice and RACES licenses remained free.
Effective March 1, 1975, the FCC lowered the above fees for amateur licenses to the following:
New or renewed license: $4 ($19.27 in 2019 dollars)
Modified license: $3 ($14.46)
Duplicate license: $2 ($9.64)
Special callsign: $25 ($120.46)
Novice and RACES licenses remained free.
Finally, effective January 1, 1977, FCC dropped all fees for amateur licenses. From then until now, all US amateur licenses have been free.
VE testing fees are set by the VECs, and go to pay the costs of conducting the test sessions - space rental, duplication, postage, etc. The current going rate seems to be $15, but VECs can set the fees higher, lower, or waive them entirely.
Modern vanity-call fees have varied over time - someone else can write their history.
In the above schedule of fees, a "new or renewed license" included the fee for taking the tests, pass or fail, for a new license or a license upgrade. A "modified" license meant a change of address or name, but not a license upgrade.
Special callsigns in those days followed different rules than today, but there were specific cases where an amateur could get a callsign that wasn't sequentially issued. The special-callsign fee was a one-time charge.
All 2019-equivalent prices are from the Westegg Inflation Calculator:
https://westegg.com/inflation/It is left to the reader to figure the per-year cost of the above fees. Note that in the 1964-1977 time period, license terms were only 5 years.