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."

Comments

you're suprised?

[Valar]

it isn't despite of crime and homelessness that our government is spending this money on better entertainment. It is because our world is such a shitty place that they are. Public spectacle and subsidized entertainment worked for the roman empire, why not the United States?

Hey

[inode_buddha]

Hey, the pols know who they're greasing. After all, those campaign ads are gonna be broadcast on those same TV's.

Re:People don't realize that they are the gov't.

[heinousjay]

In fact, we didn't even elect the man that started those wars, we elected Al Gore.

I'm fascinated that you still cling to this. It shows a willingness to believe in the face of opposing evidence that rivals the most fundamental of Christians.

Re:Bread and Circuses

[klahnako]

Exactly. How else is the government going to sell another war without a propaganda delivery mechanism?

Seriously?

[jgoemat]

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.

This doesn't make any sense. 98.2% of U.S. households have a television, 12.6% live below the poverty line. Would you like to force them to pay for a converter themselves or go without TV? I think the left would be ecstatic that the poor are getting another government handout. The wealthy won't apply for this, they probably already have TVs with built-in tuners or other tuners themselves. I guess you say it all right here: "Beyond my disdain for most TV to begin with...", so you just want to do away with TV?

Re:This is an Obscenity

[guruevi]

Well, I don't know if there's any programs you could help him on... if you really cared. The problem is nobody does, and quite frankly I don't either. The guy probably has been on those programs and either couldn't or wouldn't cut it, he might have made some stupid decisions or forced into a bad situation. I am happy I have not, and if that day ever comes, I hope my smarts can get me out of those situations fairly quick.

If there is no hope, a simple solution is to euthanize him with a 9mm, not that anyone would care, but all of sudden you would be the bad guy on the news for killing the poor helpless, homeless person and you would probably get more jail time than when you would kill your wife or boss. After the news is done, still no-one would care to protect those persons nor give them food, shelter or money.

The world's fucked up, nothing we can do about it (anymore), not even as a collective. I call for a few days of total anarchy and let evolution do it's work, that is if Darwin's theory was right and only the strongest (and thus the persons that wouldn't ever be homeless) would survive. Real life teaches other wise, the person with the best charisma and not the strongest nor the smartest do survive in an anarchistic situation by feeding on our incentive to form groups, bands and our 'need' to belong somewhere and be appreciated for what you do by the majority as well as exploiting the less intelligent as body count. The charismatic person then surrounds itself with the smarter and stronger, while the real smart and real strong persons think they can cut it on their own, but really can't, but don't want to admit it.

I don't know if any of my above theories are correct, but hey, it's my view of life and I am willing to accept if you have a different view, but I think I got a point.