Comments on: Obama Urges Delay In Digital TV Transition

President-elect Says Too Many Americans With Analog TV Sets Won't Be Ready For Feb. Switch

[barbaram99]

I was 51 when I was given a computer and the reason being I am poorly schooled. I use mass transit. Deb puts it out there. Yet poverity is real and it won''t go away. Poor folks are the ones who can ill aford it. I don''t want an ipod. i don''t want a cell phone. I was born into poverity, I am appalled at the prices of things . There are homeless cos of every thing being over priced.

[concorde5]

Nobody gives a chit about poor people. This country continues to cater to the rich. We can give 700 billion to the richest americans but can''t give a free converter box to the poor.

I know poverty. I have lived in abject poverty. Most of my family is very poor. I have an aunt who simply cannot afford a converter box at regular price. She can''t afford cable tv. Every cent she gets goes to bills or food. She doesn''t even have one dollar extra each month.

Until you have lived in that type of poverty where every cent is allocated for something, you don''t have a right to say the poor don''t deserve tv and all the other stupid comments I have seen.

[barbaram99]

Deb,
I read yer posts. Don''t cry dear. I would rather be poor and rich in the heart than rich and an asre in the heart. Ye good people and I think it is so kind of ye to look out for yer Great Aunt. People are cold today. They are in their own little world. No one greets each other any more. I am 54. I know the walk.
I grew up in small towns in Maine. I have a TV with both formats NTSC is what yer Great Aunt is watching and ATSC is the digital format. I will know on Feb 18 th if it works. But that puts alot out in the cold as can''t aford it. Dad is scared of computer. They say it will free up for the derives that need the old analog for their comm system. Yet most gather around the TV for news. As a legally blind person I welcome a cleaner picsure. We can''t afford the HDTV. Another thing we will lose is a radio that picks up TV sounds.

[dragonmouse-2009]

MANY companies were honoring the expired coupons. A lot of companies were offering "rainchecks" for expired coupons. If you were diligent you could find a box. This didn''t come up yesterday. It''s been on-going for more than a year. There was a time in which we did not have TV at all and believe it or not...somehow people survived without needing to grow anntennas on top of their heads.

I sorta think it was stupid to put an expiration date on these coupons to begin with at the very least the date should have been the day they turn off the service. Beyond that it would have been more economical for the Government to just send these boxes out. They probably could have gotten them from China for $15 a piece instead of paying $40 (as long as people didn''t try to "eat" them).

I''ve been on the low end of the pay scale before. Sometimes it means getting a second job and being careful not to accidently get pregnant with a child you can''t afford. It means you can''t afford the BIG TV or super stereo, you can''t afford the cell phone or the xbox. You have to eat a lot of Ramen.

I personally thing that all these coupons should have been distributed to those over 55 FIRST.

If you didn''t get your coupon...stay tuned there will be PLENTY of people selling them at local flea markets and yard sales cheap. I''m sure a lot of people who got them and didn''t need them.

[rf35]

If the current deadline is allowed to race ahead as planned, there will be a large number of Americans who will wake without television or any means to reconnect. But this works just fine for a government that would prefer to keep the people as ignorant as possible.
Posted by sincity_q at 08:19 AM : Jan 09, 2009

First off, nothing is racing by. This transition has been in the works for years and should not come as a surprise to anyone. If it does, then they have deeper problems than imminent TV deprivation. Second, the government would surely prefer a population of TV-addicted sheep to the alternative of a productive society. If people used TV as an educational tool with occasional entertainment thrown in as opposed to a vice that holds them transfixed for hours upon hours each day, then the government might have a problem. As it is, TV helps control the masses, something any government would promote.

[debinok1]

To those who voiced support, Thank you. To those who did not, I hope and pray you never have to experience poverty. In this economy when more and more people are out of work, when more and more companies are closing, we may all be looking at minimum wage pay in the very near future. So I leave you with this, Before you assume that the poor in this country are lazy and uneducated, ask yourself, If I lost my job today and could not find another for the same pay, Could I survive in my current lifestyle on minimum wage? Remember minimum wage after taxes is about $800 a month. Could you keep your cable or satelite? Could you keep your car? Could you keep your house? Could you feed your family? These things are hitting more people every day as the economy fails. How many of those 100,000+ waiting for coupons are people that had jobs until they were laid off and had to give up cable or satelite? They may not be lazy or uneducated, maybe until recently they were just like you.

[sincity_q]

What is NOT mentioned here is that nearly a quarter of those coupons already issued were not redeemed before they expired. People who are on fixed budgets... essentially those who need them the most, were often unable to act quick enough before the short validation period expired.

The digital switchover was shoved down the throats of the consumer on behalf of the cell phone industry which covets the current TV airspace to expand their own services. Moreover, many of the newer digital TV sets are well beyond the ability of the lower income brackets to obtain.

If the current deadline is allowed to race ahead as planned, there will be a large number of Americans who will wake without television or any means to reconnect. But this works just fine for a government that would prefer to keep the people as ignorant as possible.

[rixmix98]

Thank you. I am sitting here in tears of anger over the heartless comments of some people. It is so easy to say poverty does not exist if you never see it. When I go see my aunt I take food knowing she will want to cook for me. I always take more than she can cook for a meal so she will have extra, because she wont take help, she calls it charity. I also remember at 11 my grandfather still had an outhouse that was in 77.

Posted by DebinOK1 at 09:33 PM : Jan 08, 2009



Deb-

Don''t let these classless jerks get you down. People that make comments like these are truly miserable individuals that know no love.

Just sign me Rick in Oklahoma.

[barbaram99]

I know full well what Deb is talking about. The sad thing is nobody cares- not my words but others. When it comes to other nations America gives , Deb is talking about daily living and high cost of living. Years ago we ate well and things were priced fairly. I have kin that can''t read and write. Am on a fixed imcome. I use a white cane and America made canes are junk. Use a Canadian made one.

[rf35]

DebinOK1...if the people you mention are that poor, they shouldn''t be wasting electricity on TV. Think of how much they would save on their utilities. They could have more food on the table!
The arguement breaks down like this: If you can afford a box, buy a box.
If you can''t afford a box, turn off the TV for a while. With the money you save on electricity, you can then afford it.

[spiritwalk]

Anyone who took this long to figure out that they needed to get a converter box is too stupid to be allowed to watch TV
Posted by rf35
......................
My concern is whether or not the aliens have converter boxes.

For 60 years our TV broadcasts have been beaming out into space. Alien civilizations have been watching and monitoring our activities. What are they going to think when the signals suddenly stop? Will they think that Earth has been destroyed? Will they send huge armadas of UFO''s streaking toward us in order to find out who are the finalists on American Idol?
Obama is right, we have to delay. If we don''t the fate of the galaxy might be too horrible to even contemplate.

Just kidding. We should have had the changeover 6 months ago. Think of all the lucky people without converter boxes who could have missed the election coverage.

[rf35]

Anyone who took this long to figure out that they needed to get a converter box is too stupid to be allowed to watch TV.
When I lived in New Mexico, my neighborhood was on the fringes of broadcast range. All the channels available ota were fuzzy. A couple switched on the digital signal early and WOW! Suddenly sharp, clear pictures and better sound. I still had cable for broadband and better reception of the other stations. The channels that went digital were better even over the cable. The cable company gets local stations with an antenna before piping them through their system, after all.
Delaying the switchover is just dumb. I have supported Obama since he won the primary, but I don''t back him on this. What, is he afraid a few stupid hicks will miss his inauguration?

[piercetheval]

...Grandpa says. "High Def?...Why I''ve had it all along. If I turn the volume up real HIGH...I go DEAF!"

[piercetheval]

They never should have tried to fix what was not broken. These coupons have been a nightmare to the consumers. They are issued with an expiration of 90 days but the arrival time to the consumer is 4 to 8 weeks. By the time the consumer actually gets the coupon it has 30 to 45 days before it expires. Then comes the stores that carry the boxes. They don''''''''t have the boxes in stock or have them priced above the $49.95 that was agreed they would charge. If the consumer gets lucky, the store might have a box in stock when they get their coupon. If not they can only wait and hope the boxes come in before their coupons expire. Then the actual use of the boxes. The signal is horrid, you also need a digital antenna to go with the box which they don''''''''t tell you. Most people in rural areas end up losing channels with the digital signals. This has been a disaster since the start. The fact that the information provided was incorrect, it was stated that appr. 90% of TV viewers were DTV ready, when in fact only appr. 50% were. Why not just leave analog alone until they get all the bugs worked out.


----------------------------------
----------------------------------------
------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted

...yeah...I figured as much. I also figured that this push for HDTV really has to do with the sudden increased value of said airwaves since the ''wireless'' boom...next they are going after AM radio...too bad,

[ausus-2009]

BarbaraM99 and DebinOK1 may not realize it, but they presenting opposite ends of the same argument. Deb is talking about pay and conditions while Barbara is lamenting why the US doesn''t make TVs any more. Unfortunately, US manufacturers are competing with Asia where the pay is poor and there is no such thing as welfare. We could have high tariffs to keep Asian goods out but then only the wealthy would be able to buy a TV.

[barbaram99]

Deb says she went to college and she done graduted, I am a hillybilly and i went to high school years ago and that was sp ed. I done grad in 74. Too dumb fer college. Anyway as adults we grew up. it aint pick on Deb day..People have feelings and some need to be dressed down. i think they will have analog TV way after Feb. Computer put my brother of work as he used to fix cars fore they put the smart brain in them.

[barbaram99]

Deb it was made in America in the 70s. I know about the tuning dials. We use to make TVs here in America. they are made out of nation. Most are junk. America needs to learn to make the things we use like she once did. I was taught this*Charity beings here at home first before it is given over seas* as a foster child.

[barbaram99]

i am 54 years old and America has poor. Alot of poor won''t ask for help as they were raised not to but at the same time will go with out. That aint right. We have pride. Every day for years I eat one meal as that is all I can afford and heat it in the micorwave. I am legally blind and in my day we had 3 networks, That was it. tv was and is not the centre of attn people give it. I have been posting here for over 2 years. i perfer digital as it is clear..I would rather see that war over and Americans get back to basics. There are places in this nation still using the out house and pumping their water. Good people too. There are people who don''t have phone and computer. i am appalled at the rich who hurt it for the poor. they want the best. My dad told me this * Barbara ye use people right and they will use ye right:*. He means treats..The golden rule. The rich could not live as the poor do.

[debinok1]

If food is so hard to come by for these people, why did they waste money on a TV ?
Posted by libra217
*******************
The TV my great aunt has was bought when my great uncle was still alive and working, otherwise she would not have it. Her TV is very old still has a dial tuner with vhf and uhf settings. If I had to guess as to how old it is I would have to say over 30 years old.

[debinok1]

What is really sad that people just don''t get is that minimum wage is $6.55 an hour, working a 40 hour week before taxes that is $1126.60 a month. After taxes it''s around $800 a month. If youare a single mom you have to pay daycare which costs $60 a week and that is here, it''s much higher in other areas. $240 a month for daycare out of $800, that leaves $560 for rent, utilities and groceries. That doesn''t include clothes and shoes for the child.