When compared to the hundreds of billions and billions on that our government has been wasting over the past few months, $1.34 billion might not seem like a lot. But it is, especially when it’s thrown away for nonsense like digital television coupon boxes. And to make matters worse, they need more money because ran out of free converter coupons!

From the Warwick Beacon:

With the Feb. 17 deadline for U.S. television stations to broadcast only in digital format looming, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch has issued a consumer advisory that the $1.34 billion TV Converter Box Coupon Program [...] has run out of money. Consumers are now being placed on a waiting list to receive a coupon that will help pay for a TV conversion.

I knew the government was offering free $40 coupons to anybody who wanted one, but I didn’t know it had gone this far. Today I received a recorded phone call from a company saying that the government requires that I buy this digital box, and I hung up before I heard the rest of the gimmick to get their hands on my government coupon. And if I looked on Craigslist or eBay, I wonder how many free government digital converter boxes I’ll see for sale?

What a waste.