[opendtv] Re: OpinionJournal Article: The Digital Homestead Act

And they never offered me any free in-perpetuity spectrum loan either. ;-)

BTW, I think the original Homestead Act is still considered by most to 
have been a reasonably good and popular idea.

- Tom

Cliff Benham wrote:
> Free Cheese? I never got any free cheese!
> 
> John Willkie via OpinionJournal.com wrote:
> 
> 
>>OpinionJournal
>>[IMG][1][IMG][2]
>>
>>Your friend John Willkie thought you might be interested in this article[3]
> 
>>from OpinionJournal[4] and forwarded it to you. 
> 
>>REVIEW & OUTLOOK
>>The Digital Homestead Act
>>
>>The government offers to subsidize your TV watching.
>>
>>America's mandated conversion to all-digital television broadcasting drew a
>>step closer Wednesday, when the Senate agreed with the House on how and when
>>to do it. According to plan, the transition will take effect on Feb. 17,
>>2009. That's when TV stations that now transmit analog signals--around since
>>the 1940s--must switch to digital broadcasting.
>>
>>But wait, there's more! What we like to call the Digital Homestead Act will
>>also launch the most mockable government handout program since the cheese
>>giveaways of the Reagan era. Of course, things have changed since the street
>>distribution of surplus cheddar (caused by dairy subsidies) a
>>quarter-century ago. The reasoning behind the latest scheme is a lot dumber.
>>Essentially, Congress proposes to spend up to $1.5 billion handing out $40
>>vouchers to millions of Americans who don't need the money--so that they can
>>keep using obsolete technology.
>>
>>But let's back up a bit. Most people won't notice a change in 2009. They
>>willalready have digital TVs (all new sets sold after mid-2007 must be
>>digital), or they will still be subscribing to cable or satellite services
>>that can send digital signals even to analog TVs.
>>
>>
>>
>>[IMG]
>>
>>Yet Congress has latched onto the factoid that some 15% of households don't
>>have cable or satellite. They still receive signals on analog TVs the old
>>free-to-air way, using an antenna to get local network stations that
>>broadcast in analog. This setup won't work when all broadcasts go digital.
>>
>>Here's where the absurdities start piling up. The bipartisan party line is
>>that many of these antenna folks are elderly ladies in nursing homes or
>>people too poor to pay for digital TVs or basic cable. And since they need
>>television in order to keep abreast of their democratic rights, e.g., to see
>>political ads, Congress says that they must be given financial aid so they
>>can rush out and buy a set-top converter box that will let them see the
>>newfangled signals like the real digital homesteads do.
>>
>>Never mind that an estimated price of a converter box by 2009--$50--is the
>>cost of a few cigarette packs in New York or perhaps a bag of organic
>>produceand some free-range chickens. And don't bother pointing out that
>>UncleSam doesn't reimburse people when their TVs break, or when they must
>>payfor cable because they can't receive a clear local signal. This is
>>different, subsidy advocates insist. "This is the government making your TV
>>go black and then paying only part of the costs for some of the people to
>>make it work again," Gene Kimmelman of Consumers Union told the New York
>>Times.
>>
>>Fancy that: The government taking something away and not giving it all back.
>>Ever heard of taxes? Another canard is the notion, put forth by at least one
>>gushing editorialist, that the vouchers are "free money," since they will be
>>financed through an auction of old analog frequencies. Sounds like
>>taxpayer-financed "free" medical care. Or, to look at the voucher program
>>another way, if the government threw $1.5 billion from helicopters instead,
>>does anyone doubt that it would eventually find reasons to claw back an
>>equalamount?
>>
>>
>>
>>[IMG]
>>
>>One universally acknowledged truth--even in Congress--is that the people who
>>gobble up many of those vouchers will not be needy. Millions of households
>>with satellite dishes and new big-screen TVs also have at least one old
>>analog set lying around, and each family is entitled to two $40 vouchers.
>>
>>As we learned when many of the non-poor joined long queues for Reagan
>>cheese,Americans would stand in line for marmoset pelts if they were labeled
>>"free." To encourage such grabbiness in 2009, Congress has earmarked $5
>>million for voucher advertising. Mark your calendars.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>--- Links ---
>>  1 http://www.wsj.com/?jopinemaowsj
>>  2 http://opinionjournal.com/
>>  3 http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110007715
>>  4 http://opinionjournal.com
>>
>>
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