Deadbeat checking in here. Retiree checking in here. It makes me puke that the govt sold the bandwith for profit, something that used to be free and now they are forcing me to put out extra cash just to hear local news. All these companies are rolling in the cash and their pukey CEOs making big bucks buying off the govt. How many coffees at McDonalds do I have to give up to buy this converter box. Hell I think they should give it to retirees FREE.
This is a case where the government should pay for it -- the government took away the ability to use analog over-the-air TV by mandating the digital transition, and the government therefore owes compensation to people who incur costs as a result. The money involved is a small fraction of the revenue from selling the bandwidth for more efficient uses -- the problem with the coupon program "running out of money" is a bureaurcratic snafu rather than a genuine shortage of funds.