• by Mitch Oscar , Op-Ed Contributor, July 29, 2008

Sometimes I'm forced to hire a sitter for Jango, my 85-pound golden retriever. Last week I sojourned to San Francisco to deliver an OMMA addressable television lecture -- eleven-year-old son in tow -- and my wife off to Saratoga visiting friends. When I contacted our reliable sitter for the usual -- three walks and an overnight -- she mumbled to me (shoulders slumped, eyes grounded) that there would be a price increase. Her $65 a day all-inclusive rate was mushrooming to $100. "Why?" I asked. "The price of gas," she guzzled.

I mention this incident because I just received my monthly home office Verizon landline statement. Normally, I pay $57.07. This month I topped $60. The notice suggested that I check page 3 for "new charges." I did. but didn't see any indication of why I would be paying premium this month. Do you?

My dog sitter only lives one mile from my house. Three roundtrips a day equals six miles of travel. Utilizing my sitter's rationalized commutations, I figured Verizon's pricing, though to a lesser degree, must be based upon the transport of digital "optional service" minutes by the truck load. Then I scrutinized the bill more closely. Under the "Verizon Basic Local Services" plan, which includes monthly charge for dial tone ($.00) and touch tone ($.00) I pay surcharge and taxes of $8.51 for services I do not receive nor am I billed for. For the Verizon Optional Services, which include "the essentials" - phone service -- and costs $44.99, I pay a surcharge and taxes of $7.17.

Must be the gas.