Didn't You Know You Have a Right to HDTV?
by John Riet

Just when you thought the government couldn't possibly find another way to overstep their boundaries and spend your money in a completely unconstitutional manner… behold! Congress recently mandated that the digital format become the standard for television broadcasts by February 17, 2009. The legislative whip has been cracked. You will be entertained in high definition and you'll like it!

What does this mean? First, all television companies must take immediate steps to engineer their stations for digital broadcast. Secondly, anyone who doesn't already own one by then will need to buy an HDTV converter in order to view his/her television distortion-free.

To be fair, all credible stations looking to stay in business for a long time are going through this process anyway. And every year, more and more consumers are adopting the new technology. But to force it via government mandate smacks just a bit of statism and flies in the face of the evolution we've trusted in capitalism for decades.

I was not alive when the transition was made in America from black & white to color television. But from what I understand, it did not happen by order of the federal government. It happened because more and more people adopted this technology as it became more affordable. No one went to the electronics companies and said, “OK boys. You have three years. After that, you better be selling color televisions exclusively, or else.” It was the American consumers who told them they were ready for color television with their dollars.

Thanks to the Congressional technological proclamation, broadcasters must hurry the upgrade process, spending millions of dollars. Yes. They would have had to spend the money anyway. But now they'll most likely pay even more due to the federally imposed deadline. After all, when you need to get something done sooner than you thought, it often takes more resources to complete it. Smaller stations will especially feel the squeeze as they will be forced to borrow more money and hire engineers.

It goes to show what working in Washington does to the mind. Congress appears to be so used to taxation and inconsequential deficit spending that they've forgotten the private sector can't create resources in the same manner.

And what of the viewer? What of those who do not own the converter needed to view high-definition television? No problem. Your fellow taxpayers will foot the bill.

The debate still rages on (and rightly so) about whether it is constitutional or even moral to force one American to pay for another's necessities – namely food, housing, etc. Yet, not an eyebrow seems to be raised on this issue. Most puzzling. You'd think there would be a universal consensus that it is not my responsibility to pay for your HDTV converter. I already pay about 1/3 of my income to feed, clothe, and house people I don't even know, and now I must pay so they can view 1080 lines of resolution. I'm already unhappy about subsidizing the essentials. I'm flat out pissed that I now have to ensure their unfettered entertainment.

It's a very telling symptom of our time. I can't recall a time in history when machinery – apart from that for national defense – was ever hastened by government mandate. Consumer technology has always been driven by need and innovation. The automobile didn't become our main mode of transportation because Congress ordered the demise of the horse and buggy. People were ready for the automobile because it was more efficient, durable, and reliable. And when Henry Ford's assembly line made them affordable… boom!

It was only until recently when no one would have thought that any government other than a socialist one would determine the direction of its citizens' quality of leisure. But now the elected leaders of our “free” nation have taken it upon themselves to tell us what kind of image we will view on our TVs.

I think it's what our Founding Fathers had in mind. I'm sure they simply forgot to add the amendment that stated, “It is within the power of Congress to ensure that the people shall be provided with only the best in entertainment.”