The senate has voted to delay the switch to DTV according to an article on the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette's web site. According to this article Neilsons has estimated that tv's in 6.5 million households Tv's will go dark on February 17, 2009. The senate now wants to move that date back to June 12, 2009. It is expected that the house will also vote and pass this measure tomorrow.
First off, I would like to know where the 6.5 million cave dwellers live? The government has been pushing for this switch for a over two years. I know this has been talked about for more than two years. I bet if we check it has been nearly ten years since they started the buzz about this. I thought I was the only person who was out of touch, but there must be people out there who are more lost than I am. WOW! I know there is some miss-understandings about this, but it should be up to each individual to get the information they need and proactively make sure their household is ready.
The next thing I find interesting is that this is so important that our government has to work on it. I think we have more pressing issues to work on than watching TV. Those people who are unemployed are most likely trying to figure out how to pay there bills and TV doesn't seem that important to them at the moment. I know I am facing the unemployment possibility again and most things I thought were important don't seem to be at the moment.
Let's examine this coupon thing for a minute. Couldn't the government have issued us a coupon via a website that we could print and take to the retailer? The retailer could then take and send these coupons to the government for a refund? Why is it we have to have a credit card type thing to take in? Why have a coupon at all. Why not just subsidize the boxes directly with the retailers? Oh wait, a friend of mine said it all too well, it is another way of BIG BROTHER checking up on us. The problem I have here is that the boxes most likely have an inflated price. My bet is the box will sell for around $15 after the rebate program ends and will most likely be around $20 tax and all. I paid after coupon about $15 for each of the ones I have.
The last thing I will mention here is that the analog signals that TV is currently using is slated to be used for PUBLIC SAFTEY issues. Those signals travel farther than the current digital signal. In the vent of a disaster of some sort those frequencies could be used by govement, local, and state for communications purpose. This is the main reason for the govement is doing this. In my humble opinion the govement should just say "Tough. You didn't do anything when you were warned now deal with it". The change should happen as planned.
3 comments:
i agree with you about the price of the converter. i agree about it being out there forever about the switch.
now why were the coupons like a credit card. probley becouse the government has a bad record on paying their bills. take medicad. the docs that accept it dont get paid for months. then get paid much cheeper then anticipated. that is why alot of docs dont care for medicad. i know this becouse my doc just retired this year he is in his 70's and he told me the deal about it.
and printing the coupon off the computer seems like a good idea. but, there are tons of poeple that dont have internet access. in fact having an internet connection in this day and age is still a luxuary. i know it for a fact. i see it at the liberary when tasha and i go. there is always a line. always a line. and when you are in that line you can wait there for perhaps an hour or two. kinda like waiting for an electric typewriter back in the early 80's. i know about that becouse my parents were too cheep to get one until one day i got hit on at the liberary and complained to my dad.
i think becouse obama is new in office he is doing the right thing. this tv thing could blow up in the long run if he proceaded to go as planed. alot, alot of people voted for him that dont even have an internet connection let alone the new converters for the tvs. i know i work with them.
my personal thoughts are go ahead as planned. but, we do have the storm season here in indiana afoot right now and in the spring time and i would hate for someone to say that their family could have made it if they would have had access to the news on tv. (like a tornado tearing threw indianapolis, you never know)
take care. and even i am worried about my job right now too. but, as you said before there is nothing we can do. so i just try not to get freaked out anymore. i have put my faith in Gods hands and i feel i am in the right place that i am to be in right now.
love ida
There are warnings on radios for weather. I agree with my brother on many levels. Most importantly is that we need to stop caudiling America and get them use to the idea that they need to step up to the plate. The government shouldn't have to babysit people who are suppose to be adults. This would be like giving a student a homework assignment and saying oh, well some of them didn't think to do it after we told them month after month so we just won't grade on it at this time. People are getting way too lazy and complacent if you ask me. They need to start taking charge of their lives and account for their actions. It's been two years since we had a date, it's been five since they started talking about it. How much do you want to bet people still complain in June that they didn't have enough time. As for the Card/Email... why not just a mailed certificate? Would have been cheaper and just as effective as that silly little card. Just my opinion.
Well, the commercial I saw tonight had the mention of the date removed. I guess the broadcasters were ready for the change. It had no mention of when this was to happen just that Digital was making things better. At this rate, who knows when this will happen offically.
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