The airwaves are going digital, so the government is giving out coupons to help people who need them buy converter boxes. Now the program is out of money and the government is looking for more.
But consider, wouldn’t it be a way to help poor people and especially their children if they could no longer watch TV? Studies have shown that children from poverty-stricken families watch far more television than those from more affluent families. They watch TV instead of studying, reading, and pursuing other more valuable activities. Wouldn’t eliminating television be a way of helping the poor?
(I know, I know. They might spend the little money they do have on cable, just to get their TV fix. The kids might leave the house and turn to crime. But still, we would do well to question the assumption that TV is an unmitigated good and that giving poor people more access to TV is somehow helping them.)
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