Analog TV Bailout

[irvine_home_owner_IHB]

So now the people who aren't able to go down to their BestBuy or RadioShack to buy a $40 converter... can wait until June 12 and still not do it.



And we have to pay for it.



Where does it stop? I think the best way to make people adopt a standard is to just put it into place. You'll find that once they can't do what they were used to doing... they'll figure out a way to do it.



What's the chances June 12 becomes October 15?



Where is my responsible taxpayer bailout? Maybe I should just Daeschle it for the next few years.

 

[Oscar_IHB]

All that was changed was the requirement date. Several stations are going to switch anyway, but I suspect that many in the more rural areas will hold off until June.

 

[irvine_home_owner_IHB]

From what I've read... tons of the coupons have expired, so the gov is going to reissue them. Guess who pays that $40 and whatever costs to support this program?



It's a bailout... not a $825bil one... but a bailout nonetheless.

 

[Oscar_IHB]

[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1233894745]From what I've read... tons of the coupons have expired, so the gov is going to reissue them. Guess who pays that $40 and whatever costs to support this program?



It's a bailout... not a $825bil one... but a bailout nonetheless.</blockquote>
It's not. The government mandated the change, which effectively turns analog sets into unattractive side tables, and they have to provide a way for those old sets to remain usable. If they didn't, they would be violating the 5th Amendment by depriving citizens of the use of their property. It's a mandated change, not a bailout.

 

[green_cactus_IHB]

[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1233894745]From what I've read... tons of the coupons have expired, so the gov is going to reissue them. Guess who pays that $40 and whatever costs to support this program?



It's a bailout... not a $825bil one... but a bailout nonetheless.</blockquote>


It's being financed with the proceeds from auctioning off the analog spectrum. The problem is that the cost exceeded the earmarks for converter boxes (although it doesn't exceed the amount they made from the auction). In other words, the $40 came from the profits generated by the switch to digital.

 

[irvine_home_owner_IHB]

This was really a sarcastic thread but there is money being wasted on this somewhere.



Not only does the gov have to cough up for reissued expired coupons, but they also have to pay for whatever personnel has to handle this program for the next 4 months... and the gov never does things efficiently or cheaply.



As for where the money is coming from... I would rather take those proceeds from the analog auction and put it towards something more meaningful than "Oh man... I can't watch Springer anymore!".