for fun alternatives to watching TV. Or search the following categories:The BBC has been told to use licence fee money to help elderly and disabled people pay for digital TV equipment.
But a Lords committee examining BBC charter renewal said the switchover could push the licence's cost too high and the government itself should pay.
Licence 'must not fund TV switch'
Comments: Ah! The eternal question... "Who will pay?" The United States government resolved this issue by allocating 1.5 billion dollars in taxpayer money to fund the transition to digital TV for the poor. Mr. Bush signed this bill into law in February 2006.
President Bush Signs Historic DTV Bill, CEA Says HDTV Is On A Roll
The "No Couch Potato Left Behind" bill, sets February 17, 2009, as the cut off date for analog transmissions. The 1.5 BILLION DOLLARS(!) will go to reimburse people who purchase converter boxes for their analog sets. This $1.5 billion option was favored over the option of allowing cable operators to degrade their transmissions to "standard definition."
Now Great Britain is facing this same tough decision. Who will pay to help the people who supposedly cannot afford it, the elderly and handicapped. The options are, according to them: 1) The TV Licence (A TAX on anyone who has a TV) 2) The government (through TAXES, of course). I don't know about you, but those options look suspiciously similar to me. Taxpayers vs. Taxpayers. Are there truly no other options?
For whatever reasons, governments and large corporations believe that this conversion is essential and that no one should be deprived of their TV. Governments are willing to allocate BILLIONS(!) of dollars to ensure this, while cutting unnecessary programs, like food stamps.
And most people are too busy watching TV to notice....
Excellent!!! !