Double standards.

Why is it that people whine so much over the national television license in Norway? Fine, if you own a TV set, you have to pay something like 1000 NOK per year. These money, go towards funding NRK1, NRK2, NRK3/Super, P1, P2, P3, the web service etc.

The channels in question, provide what I believe is an important cultural alternative. It's government funded, and publicly available. Nowadays, people are joining facebook groups and what not, to protest against paying this fee. "Because we don't watch the channels, or listen to those radio stations".

Ok, so let's investigate this claim. A large part of the same people also have either cable or satellite TV. And I am willing to bet a large sum of money, that they pay a monthly set fee, for that service. I would also be willing to bet they don't watch most of those channels, maybe half at most. Where's my empirical data you say? Fuck empirical data, there's such a thing as common sense.

So why then, are they so willing to protest against paying for something that actually provides (at least partly) decent TV? Sports casts, balanced news, debates etc. There's plenty of things that are needed, important and valid, as an alternative to the messed up reality tv-shows, the annoying advertising, and all the fucked up shows telling you who you should be, or planting ideas in our heads that everyone needs to be and can be celebrities.

Most standard subscriptions to cable or sat tv, cost about 199 per month. Which amounts to about 2400 a year. Of which they might be watching half the channels, if that many. 1200 down the drain then.

I don't get these people. Going by the same logic, taxes should be individually set. You have a child that goes to school? You should pay more then. Are you a hermit living outside society? No taxes for you. The hermit probably wouldn't protest (he probably isn't paying taxes anywho), but I'm pretty goddamn sure most people plan on having kids, and wouldn't like paying twice the taxes of people not having kids in school.

Maybe they would stop whining if the general tax went up by say 0.01% (or whatever the number would be to compensate for the TV license), so they didn't get the bill in their mailbox. Maybe then it would be fine, since they didn't have to think about it.

Out of sight, out of mind.