Why the Coupon Program Floundered

USA Today's take on the DTV coupon program.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/20...-trouble_N.htm

whosbest54
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On Mar 25, 3:03*pm, whosbest54
wrote:
USA Today's take on the DTV coupon program.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/20...-signal-coupon...

whosbest54
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It failed because of Republicans.

TMT

USA Today's take on the DTV coupon program.

It failed because of Republicans.

TMT

No, it failed because of the Demopublican Repubicrats. They've
controlled Congress and the Presidency for at least 100 years. You
can't say that about any other party, especially not Republicans
(a.k.a. The Right Horn of Satan) and Democrats (a.k.a. The Left
Horn of Satan) separately.

"whosbest54" wrote in message
...
USA Today's take on the DTV coupon program.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/20...-trouble_N.htm

whosbest54
--
The flamewars are over...if you want it.

The prices of the converter boxes are inflated by the coupon. If Government
just stuck with the original date of Feb 17th, the prices of all converter
boxes would have dropped to a realistic price of $10-$20.

Same thing goes for Solar Energy, the prices of a setup is inflated by the
rebates and incentives. The realistic price for a $5k (1Kwh) is really about
$1500.

Rastamon wrote:
"whosbest54" wrote in message
...
USA Today's take on the DTV coupon program.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/20...-trouble_N.htm

whosbest54
--
The flamewars are over...if you want it.

The prices of the converter boxes are inflated by the coupon. If Government
just stuck with the original date of Feb 17th, the prices of all converter
boxes would have dropped to a realistic price of $10-$20.

Same thing goes for Solar Energy, the prices of a setup is inflated by the
rebates and incentives. The realistic price for a $5k (1Kwh) is really about
$1500.


LG pretty much set the price. In March 2007, Thomson (RCA) announced a
coupon-eligible converter box that they priced at $200. A few months
later, when LG announced they would be selling theirs (Zenith/Insignia)
for $60, Thomson followed suit. Had LG said $40, I'll bet Thomson would
have, too.

TJ

Gordon Burditt wrote:
USA Today's take on the DTV coupon program.

It failed because of Republicans.

TMT

No, it failed because of the Demopublican Repubicrats. They've
controlled Congress and the Presidency for at least 100 years. You
can't say that about any other party, especially not Republicans
(a.k.a. The Right Horn of Satan) and Democrats (a.k.a. The Left
Horn of Satan) separately.

Absolutely. They both had a hand in it.

I wanted to try converting to digital a year before I was able to, but
there were none of the government-promised $40 converters anywhere in
the stores or on-line. I read somewhere on the web that the retailers
didn't want to see any converters until the government started issuing
coupons, and I read other places that the government was waiting to
issue coupons until the converters were in the stores. Personally, I
think they were trying to sell as many high-profit HDTVs as they could
before people learned that a converted analog TV was perfectly acceptable.

Another case of the government mucking around with the marketplace, and
making things worse. Both sides are at fault. The idiots in power now
for insisting on a coupon program, and the idiots in power then for
giving in and then underfunding it. Had the marketplace been left alone,
a need for an inexpensive converter would have been seen, and somebody
would have filled it. But no. We po' folks had to be "protected" from
the evil electronics industry and our own folly.

Sigh.

TJ

On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:03:36 -0500, whosbest54 wrote:

USA Today's take on the DTV coupon program.

My take on it.

It worked great. But them I had enough sense to order my coupons early. It
only floundered for idiots.

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In article merica,
Gordon Burditt wrote:
USA Today's take on the DTV coupon program.

It failed because of Republicans.

TMT

No, it failed because of the Demopublican Repubicrats. They've
controlled Congress and the Presidency for at least 100 years. You
can't say that about any other party, especially not Republicans
(a.k.a. The Right Horn of Satan) and Democrats (a.k.a. The Left
Horn of Satan) separately.

What??? There is someone who is not taken in
by the seductive propaganda? Get this Burditt
fellow to a re-education camp immediately!!!
(Fortunately Guantanemo is still operating at
full efficiency.)

In article ,
Rastamon wrote:

The prices of the converter boxes are inflated by the coupon. If Government
just stuck with the original date of Feb 17th, the prices of all converter
boxes would have dropped to a realistic price of $10-$20.

Same thing goes for Solar Energy, the prices of a setup is inflated by the
rebates and incentives. The realistic price for a $5k (1Kwh) is really about
$1500.

Don't you know that governments exist to use their
monopoly of force to channel money from the productive
to the people that pose as "government" and their
friends?

"Wes Newell" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:03:36 -0500, whosbest54 wrote:

USA Today's take on the DTV coupon program.

My take on it.

It worked great. But them I had enough sense to order my coupons early. It
only floundered for idiots.

I have a different view. The program worked for enthusiasts who largely did
not need it and failed because the people that really need the converters
were not well informed nor interested in what was going on at the time the
program started. I think the whole idea of subsidizing any but those who
are on very limited incomes was silly to start with, and probably not even
necessary for them.

I mean really, Wes, was it a big financial burden to you and most of the
people posting here that got coupons? The digital transition was just too
much for your budget to deal with?

Leonard