The House yesterday approved legislation to complete the US transition to new, higher-quality digital television by Feb. 17, 2009, and to help consumers pay for the equipment needed to ensure their old televisions do not go dark.
Because God forbid that people might actually have to pay for and supply their own entertainment. We will have our circuses:
Under a deal negotiated by Republicans in the House and Senate, up to $1.5 billion would be available to help some people buy converter boxes to keep their analog-signal televisions working when the transition is finished.
Lots of circuses:
They agreed upon a compromise date that avoids some major televised sporting events such as the annual football Super Bowl in January but would fall before the ''March Madness" annual college basketball tournament.
Why is the government paying for television? Why, to save money, of course. What a silly question:
The compromise is part of a larger bill aimed at cutting government spending over the next five years, which was narrowly approved by the House and awaits Senate action.
So we cut government spending by spending 1.5 BILLION dollars to make sure people keep their circus connection. I will explain that to the Headmaster the next time he is looking at the bills and clutching his head in his hands. "Sweetheart, the way to cut our spending is to give me a great fat credit card and send me to the bookstore. I promise." Of course, in order for this plan to make me money I just have to figure out how to lay claim to something that doesn't belong to me by rights and then sell it to others:
Current law requires stations to switch to airing only digital broadcasts when 85 percent of the country can receive the new signals, or by Dec. 31, 2006, whichever comes later. Experts have said that could take a long time, prompting lawmakers to seek a more certain date. Congress is eager for broadcasters to give up the analog airwaves, some of which will be sold for commercial wireless services. Lawmakers earmarked almost $7.4 billion of the likely proceeds to go toward deficit reduction.
From the Boston Globe
Oh, man.
ReplyDeleteMy major in college was broadcast studies (okay, I started out in engineering and needed something I could finish really fast before my scholarships ran out) and this switch was naturally discussed much.
In 1998.
The history behind this is that the manufacturers are the same ones who imposed a certain quality limitation on color TVs because of the large number of people who owned black & white televisions. There would be no jump in quality were the government not to enforce it.
As to the funding of the adaptor boxes, I can certify that if they did not give such assistance, they would be slapped by a major lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities statutes. There are many invalid and disabled people for whom the television is the ONLY form of entertainment, and Congress doesn't dare deprive them. (My father-in-law was the only person I'd ever met who justified an extended cable bill. Wonderful, intelligent man whose eyes were degraded too much for reading and who was housebound by breathing machines.)
I think I lost the point in my above comment.
ReplyDelete1. Congress is mandating the switch so that the quality of television will improve.
2. Gear geeks, obviously, would buy the equipment regardless, but if there's nothing broadcast most people won't.
3. Congress is, in making the switch, thinking of the economy. Not only does a new standard mean more purchases, but if such a standard were not mandated that money would go overseas, because most countries have better televisions than the current (old) format.
4. 1.4 billion does seem a bit much. But I wouldn't be surprised if it's much smarter to distribute adaptors than to do a buyback program— you never know how many old TVs are sitting in people's basements.
Of course, this comment doesn't make it any clearer. I'll stop now.