Is TV A Constitutional Right?
I say no.
Sorry if this upsets everyone in the industry, but I just can’t go along with the government’s plan to spend at least $900 million so people who still receive over-the-air TV signals can go buy an analog-to-digital converter box.
Granted, it was the government’s decision to eliminate the analog spectrum, thus forcing everyone to upgrade, but our fearless leaders make decisions every day that require us to spend money and they never bother to pay us in those cases. So why now?
Just to double check that my personal feeling on this issue are in line with the Founding Fathers’ thoughts, I checked through the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers and the Magna Carta and I did not find anything guaranteeing Americans the right to TV.
I did read a rumor Ben Franklin asked for TV rights to be added, but he was shouted down by James Madison who had no wish to do a rewrite on the Constitution. Interestingly, the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution as a measure to limit the federal government. So much for that.
My other fear with this kind of spending is where it may lead.
Why not give money to those of us without a Blu-ray player? Don’t my kids deserve to watch “Cars” in the best quality possible? How about a few bucks toward an XM or Sirius subscription or something a little extra for those of us who still don’t own an iPod?
Maybe instead of earmarking almost a billion dollars for the DTV transition, the government could merely tell everyone to take $40 out of the $600 federal rebate we are supposed to receive and put it toward a converter box?
Perhaps instead of worrying about everyone having access to “SpongeBob” and “Celebrity Rehab” our lawmakers could offer better care to the families of our troops serving overseas, or paying the death benefits to the families of two New York City auxiliary cops. Hell, I think the money would be better spent keeping both of NASA’s Mars rovers operating.
Any way I look at it the rebate coupon is a boondoggle and a waste of money better spent elsewhere.
Christor Hanstrom commented:
I'm not sure about a Constitutional right, but I have to agree with
your buddy Stewart Wolpin (Harmonic Distortion blog) on this one.
We pay taxes for access to public airwaves. Now, I'm having to pay
additional money to maintain access to the public airwaves I'm
already paying for!! This would be equivalent to your mortgage
company changing the locks on your house & then charging you to
obtain a new set of keys! I think you're off the mark a little on
this one.
Christor Hanstrom commented:
I'm not sure about a Constitutional right, but I have to agree with
your buddy Stewart Wolpin (Harmonic Distortion blog) on this one.
We pay taxes for access to public airwaves. Now, I'm having to pay
additional money to maintain access to the public airwaves I'm
already paying for!! This would be equivalent to your mortgage
company changing the locks on your house & then charging you to
obtain a new set of keys! I think you're off the mark a little on
this one.
Christor Hanstrom commented:
Jim in VA commented:
The Declaration of Independence states the pursuit of happiness is
an inalienable right. I had many a college roommate that stared
endlessly at the TV for hours and without cable. Not sure if they
we “Happy” but they were definitely perusing it along
with their case of the munchies. The FCC’s sale of the 700
MHz spectrum will bring in much more money than the cost of the
converters. My concern is the mass quantities of TVs that will
flood landfills and the environment with what ever magic powder is
in the CRT (It is still a mystery to me how all that stuff works).
So while I realize the Declaration of Independence was a list
reasons to depart from English rule and not a list of rights we
were going to extend to our new citizens, I am sure the founding
fathers would have gone home to watch themselves showboat on free
6:00 news.
Jim in VA commented:
The Declaration of Independence states the pursuit of happiness is
an inalienable right. I had many a college roommate that stared
endlessly at the TV for hours and without cable. Not sure if they
we “Happy” but they were definitely perusing it along
with their case of the munchies. The FCC’s sale of the 700
MHz spectrum will bring in much more money than the cost of the
converters. My concern is the mass quantities of TVs that will
flood landfills and the environment with what ever magic powder is
in the CRT (It is still a mystery to me how all that stuff works).
So while I realize the Declaration of Independence was a list
reasons to depart from English rule and not a list of rights we
were going to extend to our new citizens, I am sure the founding
fathers would have gone home to watch themselves showboat on free
6:00 news.
Jim in VA commented:
Brian Shield commented:
No one is concerned about "Spongebob" and/or "Celebrity Rehab"
because these programs are on Nickelodeon and VH1 respecively,
which are not available over the air. The real concern has to do
with local stations, newscasts, emergency broadcast alerts and the
like. If we simply cut these people off from basic network
television, what does that say about our willingness to take care
of our own? Everyone's for taking care of our men in uniform
serving overseas and their families, but $900 million is a drop in
the bucket compared to the Billions spent on the war every month.
You also didn't mention the additional frequency spectrum to be
allotted to the emergency communications and first responders. I'm
all for discussion and trying to prove a point, but not at the
expense of actual facts.
Brian Shield commented:
No one is concerned about "Spongebob" and/or "Celebrity Rehab"
because these programs are on Nickelodeon and VH1 respecively,
which are not available over the air. The real concern has to do
with local stations, newscasts, emergency broadcast alerts and the
like. If we simply cut these people off from basic network
television, what does that say about our willingness to take care
of our own? Everyone's for taking care of our men in uniform
serving overseas and their families, but $900 million is a drop in
the bucket compared to the Billions spent on the war every month.
You also didn't mention the additional frequency spectrum to be
allotted to the emergency communications and first responders. I'm
all for discussion and trying to prove a point, but not at the
expense of actual facts.
Brian Shield commented:
