said by ditka_b :

We shouldn't be paying 40-80.00 to anyone unless they could prove that they couldn't pay.

said by SLD :

No, in fact, aside from failing memories, elderly should be wiser than you and I.
We should be asking *them* for advice.

said by stevek1949 :

One of the reasons that the money is an issue is that A LOT of people ordered the coupons, even though they were on satellite or cable. I personally know at least 15 people in my area that did this "just in case". Those coupons should expire in 45 days and the money would be available again.

What is the right expression? You can't fix stupid?

I would support going through with the transition. All of the TV stations in my area have been testing for months with hotlines for callers. Let's get it over with.

said by Jwobot :

What happens when the Sat or Cable goes out? Or what if your TV at Deer camp does not have a digital tuner or the TV in your camper does not have a digital tuner?

said by stevek1949 :

Those coupons should expire in 45 days and the money would be available again.

said by Camelot One :

But I haven't seen any mention of what happens to those funds when they do.

said by ditka_b :

We shouldn't be paying 40-80.00 to anyone unless they could prove that they couldn't pay. I know the economy is hurting now but it wasn't when we started wasting billions for this conversion. There are bigger problems to address and this one I agree is far too late to change.

Postponing the turnoff of analog TV broadcasts beyond the scheduled date, Feb. 17, could confuse consumers, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission warned Saturday.

FCC chairman Kevin Martin said it's important to make sure that the converter box subsidy program gets back on track, but that doesn't mean delaying the analog turnoff is necessary.

"There are options they can do without having to delay to get coupons flowing immediately," Martin said. Congress could give the program additional funding, or eliminate the 90-day expiration deadline on the coupons, he said.

"I'm concerned about a delay in the sense that if you can solve that issue other ways, a delay has actually the potential to confuse consumers," said Martin, a Republican. "All of our messaging has been about Feb. 17 — not just ours — the industry's."

said by tarpon :

Too funny. No one has anything they are responsible for, not even their TV.

said by cdru :

Yeah, because teh current republican administration and FCC never delayed the switchover either. It has nothing to do with political affiliation.

said by tarpon :

Too funny. No one has anything they are responsible for, not even their TV.

said by whocares :

[b]WHY should OUR TAX DOLLARS, have to help pay for someone to get get a converter box to twach tv ?

its called PROGRESS,the world is always changing,

the gov't sure didn't help any put that I know of when we had to have our car engines adjust from regular gas to unleaded gas,[b]I didn't see any ck's being handed out for say $2-300.00 to have the nec car engines repaired.YOU PAID THE BILL YOURSELF or you went out & bought a car already set up for unleaded gas.

also in so many polls that have been taken over 60% of Americans are now living in apts,or condo's where a wall cabletv mount is almost standard installation as a telephone jack,
[b]WHY should the Taxpayerhave to to help fund for these gov't give away's,

said by soulcatch :

Wether tax dollars were used to buy the converters directly or not. We are still paying for people to get them. The selling of the address space generated revenue, if we didn't have to pay for people who did not want to contribute, then the revenue used from the conversion could be used for other programs.

said by dr3yec :

Another stupid idea from Obama. You people elected a pretty face. Not a smart mind. Obama and the dems are already making a joke out of washington.

said by morbo :

let the transition go through. people will cope.

said by tubbynet :

but it would be a slow-moving overthrow...
lot of squeaking from the walkers and such...
we'd have to make sure that they covered the ends with tennis balls too...i don't want my hardwood floors scratched if they come to get me.

q.

said by gopnick :

No joke. Take away all-you-can-eat country buffets on top of Matlock and The Price is Right and they'd organize a violent overthrow.

said by gt1racer :

That's just great if this happens So much for the new High Definition channels promised to come after the So-called Transition. America should have a say in this decision! and i bet 84% want the transition on Feb 17th and no later, because if this extension were to happen(imagine how many people would of switched for nothing and how us digital customers will have to stick with the on and on Digital TV Transition Scrolls and Annoying commercials on this topic for a very long time to come!!).

said by hhawkman :

Can you even BUY a new TV without a digital tuner these days?

said by jsimmons :

Yes you can.. Just try to buy a battery operated / handheld portable TV and see if you can find a digital one. I get catalogs in the mail all the time (got one yesterday) with battery powered pocket color TV's for sale. And after Feb 17 all you will get on them is snow and hiss.

said by caesarv :

As someone said, procrastinators will wait until their TV goes dark. If they delay this a year, procrastinators will wait a year. The only incentive to get it done is to have the TV go out. All stations in a given area should stop broadcasting analog for an hour or so at various times. This will wake the procrastinators up!
My parents bought a converter even though I told them not to. I gave them a new TV for Christmas. They now have converter they do not need. My guess is about 10-20% of the converters will never be used.