Digital Television Transition After The First Quarter

As we near the first quarter of our “Totally Digital Television Transition”, the reception in rural areas is very spotty at best. The “Digital Transition” equipment our illustrious leaders in Washington were so happy to fund by spending billions of the tax payer’s dollars sending discount coupons to anyone in need of these devices, enables its recipients to view one or maybe two stations if they are very lucky, after spending an additional $20 to $40 out of their own pocket.

As a resident of rural Northeast Georgia, I have first-hand knowledge of these devices capabilities, as well as talking with many of the elderly residents in the area that are all very disappointed with the over-all performance. Most of the rural residents that were able to watch 4 to 8 channels with just their antenna before the transition, are only able to receive the signal from 1 station now because of it’s relatively close proximity to their homes. This single station they are able to view with their $40 investment will soon be out of range for these devices as well, because the station was sold and is moving 70 miles away.

This forces rural residents that can afford the service, to install a Satellite Television Service and pay a monthly fee to access even the local news & weather in their area… But what about the elderly and disabled that are on a fixed income ? The high cost of living already has them in a financial strain, forcing them to choose between food or medicine many times, and free television is the only form of entertainment they can afford. Many of the elderly or disabled rural residents won’t be able to afford a Satellite Television Service because it simply will not fit into their already tight budgets.

I don’t feel it is fair for The United States to portray itself as “A Free Country” to the world when special interest groups and lobbyists can pay our elected officials to vote in their favor for programs designed to make every single taxpayer in The United States buy their products !!! Shouldn’t the elderly and disabled have a voice in this matter as well !?! Do the elderly, disabled or poor have less rights than anyone else in The United States because they can’t afford their own lobbyist !?!

If our government feels it is so important to become involved in the Tele-communications industry, perhaps it would be a good idea for our government to start it’s own “Satellite Television Service” and offer this service freely to any resident who is on a fixed income and can not afford the services offered by the existing companies. The government already takes a substantial portion from each Social Security check it’s recipients receive to pay for Medicare benefits, so why couldn’t they tack on an extra $5 or $10 a month to cover the cost of Government Satellite Service as well ?

I can’t help but feel this bill was passed too quickly due to the influence of greedy corporate lobbyists who wanted this bill passed so that every American would have to pay for their “Television Privileges”. It seems it wasn’t enough that the Television Stations were paid a fair price for their services by advertisers, the entertainment and news media want everyone that uses their service for news or entertainment to pay a monthly bill as well . The money generated by this “Digital Transition” cost the consumers as well as taxpayers billions of dollars from the very start, just so we will have to spend trillions of dollars to these corporations in the future ! I suppose we have our greedy & nearsighted politicians to thank for all of this…

I have spent most of my adult life in a management or supervisory position, and the most important aspect of these jobs was to make sure the employees were happy with their work and employer. The harmony generated seemed to increase production and loyalty. This was accomplished by never asking any of my employees to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself. With this in mind, perhaps the answer to this “Digital Dilemma” would be to have every politician in Washington use these devices as their only form of entertainment for a year. Maybe then, they wouldn’t be so eager to pass such ridiculous bills as this one in the first place !!! Something needs to be done for the underprivileged people that have found themselves caught in this “Digital Transition”… I just hope we learn from this mistake and try to stop our elected officials from making decisions on our behalf that don’t really benefit anyone accept “Corporate America” in the future.