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Billion Dollar Handout To Upgrade TVs
db32 writes "SFGate has the story of the cutoff date for those rabbit ear antennas that some of us grew up with (Feb. 19, 2009). Now while the story of analog vs. digital TV has been beaten to death, still I think there is something more here. 'The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration... said it is setting aside $990 million to pay for the boxes. Each home can request up to two $40 coupons for a digital-to-analog converter box, which consumer electronics makers such as RCA and LG plan to produce.' Beyond my disdain for most TV to begin with, I am blown away that with all of our current problems — homelessness and crime on the home front, war fighting and terrorism abroad — our government is seriously going to spend this much money on upgrading peoples' televisions."
All economies are based on this. If noone bought things they didn't need, we'd eliminate all jobs but agriculture and medicine with a 90+% unemplyment rate. If people don't buy goods/services, there's no reason to produce them, thus no incentive to invest (if noone buys a product, why make it?). Capitalism is built on having a large pool of people willing to spend their money.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
From an external point of view, a government that wont pay for subsidised heating in a country where people can freeze to death but will pay for subsidised digital TV tuners is seriously fucked up, absolutely mind boggling. Yeah sure, the MPAA and the RIAA aren't running your country.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen