Got an obsolete TV? Call the government.

[Conspiracy Theory]

The government is spending over a billion simoleons to help people upgrade their television sets.

Why?

Seriously.

 

[I Just Believe In Me]

If you read the article it points out that it was congress that forced the switch in broadcasting making many peoples sets useless. As such it seems right that they help those people to upgrade their systems. Also the end of the article points out that all the money with be recouped ten fold when the freed up frequencies are sold.

 

[RealDealNeverstop]

So when it became law to have car insurance did the government subsidize premiums for anyone? This is pure smelly cow patty juice steaming from the bowels of big government.

 

[trunks2k]

The government is spending over a billion simoleons to help people upgrade their television sets.

Why?

Seriously.

They're not helping to upgrade television sets prese. Rather, they're helping pay for converter boxes that will translate digital signals into analog. They're doing it to keep people from being really mad that the gov't is mandating digital TV broadcasting (the broadcasting of which is a public good). And as mentioned above, the gov't is going to make tons of money selling off the old analog TV bands. So they're going to want the transition between analog and digital to go as smoothly as possible.

I think for most people, they won't need it. It'll only be needed by very low income households that don't have cable, satellite, or haven't bought a new TV within the past couple years.

 

[trunks2k]

So when it became law to have car insurance did the government subsidize premiums for anyone? This is pure smelly cow patty juice steaming from the bowels of big government.

The government itself isn't going to directly make a bunch of money off of mandating car insurance. Nor is car insurance a public good. In this case, the government has direct incentive to make the transition happen as quickly and painlessly as is reasonably possible. It's the sale of the analog tv bands that is paying for the converter subsidies, the money gained from which will be way, way more than what is given out for the subsidies.

 

[RealDealNeverstop]

Yes money was and is made off insurance. Thats lobbying. For this, who would want obselete analog bands? Weird al yankovic

 

[trunks2k]

For this, who would want obselete analog bands? Weird al yankovic

Various Communications companies (cell phones and the like).

 

[Voegelin]

The masses need their low brow entertainment. Not for their benefit (it isn't to their benefit) but for the benefit of those who profit from a quiescent, barely educated populace. Without ready access to TV, public education is crippled.

 

[NeTrips]

The government is spending over a billion simoleons to help people upgrade their television sets.

Why?

Seriously.

so that cheap old curmudgeons such as myself who refuse to pay for the garbage being broadcast can still watch their non-remote control TV's!

Thanks for the link, I just signed up for 2 coupons!

 

[trunks2k]

so that cheap old curmudgeons such as myself who refuse to pay for the garbage being broadcast can still watch their non-remote control TV's!

Again, just to be clear on things since the above may be interpreted by some incorrectly:

Having a remote control or a TV that doesn't have a "dial" does not mean you have a digital TV

The fact that the interface to the TV may be "digital" does not mean the part of the TV that interprets TV signals is digital as well. If your TV is over 5 years old, it probably does not have a digital tuner. Your TV will probably say on it somewhere whether or not it has a digital tuner.

 

[NeTrips]

Again, just to be clear on things since the above may be interpreted by some incorrectly:

Having a remote control or a TV that doesn't have a "dial" does not mean you have a digital TV

These same folks would probably benefit from some additional info:

-Having checks remaining in your checkbook does not mean there is a positive balance in the checking account.

-Wash rinse repeat is not an infinite loop.

 

[trunks2k]

These same folks would probably benefit from some additional info:

Well the reason I mentioned it, somebody in another thread thought that a digital TV was a tv without an actual dial. And it's not the first time I've heard people think that.

 

[RealDealNeverstop]

I can see how some would make the bad connection. No matter how it gets spun, this is a classic case of Big Brother subsidizing a luxury. How in the hell it can set aside the money for tv while there are people dying from a lack of medical insurance is just galactically astronomically asinine insane. Voeg actually made a great point because in Romerica the tv is the Colliseum.

 

[trunks2k]

I can see how some would make the bad connection. No matter how it gets spun, this is a classic case of Big Brother subsidizing a luxury. How in the hell it can set aside the money for tv while there are people dying from a lack of medical insurance is just galactically astronomically asinine insane. Voeg actually made a great point because in Romerica the tv is the Colliseum.

not really. Again, the government is going to make a tidy amount of money off the sale of the old analog TV bands. In order to expedite the process of it, they're paying subsidies to people who would be annoyed at having to buy a new tv or boxes (and complain, thus slowing down the transition). That money is going to come out of the sale of the signal bands. Not to mention that TV actually does serve the public.

 

[Voegelin]

TV has never done anything postive for America.

PBS in particular.

The people who will access this program are not worth anything to advertisers so no value is added to any of the spectrum the Feds may auction off by helping them watch.

 

[NeTrips]

TV has never done anything postive for America.

PBS in particular.

The people who will access this program are not worth anything to advertisers so no value is added to any of the spectrum the Feds may auction off by helping them watch.

I think it has succeeded in convincing people that health insurance, not health care, saves lives. That has saved the gov $$$ by not having to spend money selling socialist ideas on their own, the networks can do this for them!

 

[RealDealNeverstop]

So they are using the peoples' money to buy the peoples' silence in order to make money off the people when it has no business forcing privately owned businesses to use a particular technology. Tv is a luxury item, not public service.

 

[RealDealNeverstop]

Nobody advocated socialist health care. It was pointed out how backwards priorities have become. What was it? 1.5 billion? Yeah, receiver converters are way more important than saving human lives.

 

[scraparcs]

Public service or not I got my coupons!

 

[RealDealNeverstop]

Rino! Rino! Rino! ROTFL lotsa love and iam sure you can appreciate the humor. On the serious side, if anyone should subsidize the converters it should be the murdochs of the world because just like stepping in to help mortgage companies, this is equally wrong and out of the realm of government function and purpose.