Another reason our government is broke...

Below is an excerpt from an article on cnn.com about a government program providing $40 coupons to us poor Americans who can't afford to upgrade our TV's to HDTV in time for the switch from analog TV that is taking place next year. My additions to the article are in bold.

"Congress, in ordering the transition to digital broadcasting, set aside $1.5 billion (that's billion with a capital B) for the coupon program, which will fund 33.5 million coupons and other costs.

The giveaway basically works under the honor system. (that sounds dangerous)

The first 22 million coupons will go to all households that request them. That includes a residence that gets cable service for one television but has a spare TV that still uses an antenna, for example. (oh, those poor suffering Americans with only one TV wired to cable or satellite)

The rest of the coupons, however, are meant only for those who do not subscribe to a pay-television service."

Hmmmm....what else could we do with $1.5 billion?

750,000 teachers could get a $2000 raise. We could buy about 2 million computers for classrooms. We could drill 1 million wells in Africa providing sanitary water to drink. You get the idea. So, if you know me well, you know I don't really watch TV. Reading about the money our government is spending to lead people to sit on their couches and watch ads that force them to grow more discontent with their small 35" analog TV's so that they throw the old ones away and buy newer, bigger HDTVs with their credit cards and go deeper in debt makes me not want to watch TV at all (except for Virginia Tech football and The Simpsons, of course)!