The price of tag-fee confusion

Once upon a time, there were license tags. Period.

Now there are dozens of varieties in South Carolina. Fourteen relate to the military, and there is confusion to go along with them.

Recently, we questioned why some special military license tags are free, some cost $15, some cost $20 and some cost $30. We noted what the state Department of Motor Vehicles said on its Web site — that Vietnam veterans pay $20 every two years for special tags but World War II veterans and their spouses get special tags for free.

Several World War II vets called to say their tags had not been free at all. They paid $20 for them. So we double-checked the Web site. We checked the application form. The tags were supposed to be free.

Mystery solved: The DMV explained that the state Legislature changed the cost. World War II vets who used to get free tags now pay $20 every two years as do Vietnam vets. The Web site and application need updating.

Now maybe someone can figure out the other part of the mystery — how the Legislature arrives at the prices.

Are Pearl Harbor survivors (who pay $15) worthy of more honor than other World War II vets who pay $5 more? Former prisoners of war pay nothing. Purple Heart recipients pay nothing. People who have lost family members in the service (Gold Star Families) pay $30. Medal of Honor recipients get free plates.

Surely all who have served in the military deserve thanks. The question is how much that should cost.