In other words, I haven't heard much from nominally pro-free marketeers about this government interference into markets. Even the media, which gets easily outraged about Social Security and "Medicare fraud" [often merely a disingenuous swipe at Medicare in general], and other subsidies to US citizens ... switches gears and frames this direct subsidy in terms of "COOL! You'll get a $40 coupon from the government to get your own converter box! Great!" New times are a-comin'! Huzzah.
As I understand it, the market should decide who wants to get the converters, etc., free from govt. prodding, if one wants to raise the flag of straight-up laissez faire. The government should remain out of the picture, not issuing coupons to people to upgrade their appliances. You know, the way the govt. should not give health care to kids, lest socialism surreptitiously sneak in the back door.
It's been noted on LBO that active govt. involvement in WiFi, etc., in Europe and east Asia has made those much better places for the 'net. But it's hard to get US local or state governments interested in investing to building such networks up, because again you run up against old red-baiting nonsense, upon whose shores such plans can get crashed. Yet there is no free market hell-raising in the media about this government subsidizing of the US public (for which you qualify no matter how wealthy you are!).
-B.
Jordan Hayes wrote:
"It's not that hard to understand; getting back the wasted spectrum that analog TV (ab)uses today is worth far more to the government than the $1.5B this will cost. It may be being pitched as cool new tech but it's really a sensical reallocation of a scarce, valuable reseource."