How come I learn more from John Oliver than the Evening News??

[zebonaut]

https://m.

after laughing; this will make you very very angry

[valerief]

1. Because subscribers pay for HBO instead of only advertisers with special interests.

http://hbowatch.com/traditional-ratings-numbers-dont-matter-as-much-to-hbo/

HBO is not a slave to Advertisers

Another reason HBO finds itself nearly exempt from the pressure of driving ratings ever higher is the fact that they are not beholden to advertisers. The primary function of ratings, in fact is to prove to advertisers how many eyeballs will be on their latest advertisement. This is a very real issue for most shows on television. But for HBO’s programs advertisers don’t exist and therefore do not need to be massaged every 30 days with new ratings numbers.

This allows HBO to keep shows that are under-performing for an extra season or two to allow them a chance to get their footing. Could you imagine if The Wire, after a slow second season, were on ABC or NBC? If the ratings had dipped half-way through the season we’d have all been wondering whether or not the show had a future. Not to mention the fact the show would have taken from advertisers uncomfortable airing their commercials in between gun fights and heroin deals.

The primary function of ratings (pleasing potential advertisers) is moot when it comes to HBO’s programming.

That plus John is WONDERFUL!

[Kalidurga]

2. I figured this one out in my 20's

the solution I thought was the fairest was to sentence community service to people who couldn't pay. Now after watching this I think they should just abolish fines for everyone regardless of ability to pay and sentence everyone to community service. Cuz Amber would really hate that.

[Jon82]

3. my step-son experienced this

At the time he received his ticket, we could not afford to help him because we just paid a huge sum to our lawyer for a custody battle initiated by my wife's ex. So, he entered a payment plan. A couple months later he lost his part time job (he is in college) and was unable to make two of his payments. Well, a bench warrant was issued and he did the right thing and turned himself in to try and resolve the issue. He did this on his own without even speaking to us. The next day, we received a phone call from him from the county jail. I immediately went to the justice center and asked what I could do. They explained that we could spend money to bond him out which still left the remaining fines and court costs and go to the probation office to pay his fines. It was a friday and we were told that even if we just paid the fines he would still be in jail until Monday. I told them they were spending more money to house him then what he owed and that was stupid (13 years in public service kind of helped me on the issue of housing someone in a facility). The clerk actually said I know but there was nothing else that could be done. We paid his fines and than paid the fee to bond him out so he would not have to stay the weekend in jail. These type of make no sense policies do not seem to benefit anyone unless someone can come up with the money. If we were not able to help, the city/county would have spent way more money to punish him through a jail sentence. No one who is unable to pay up front but is truly making every effort to pay their fines should be subjected to these unreasonable practices.

[mrdmk]

4. Back in the eighties we were told repeatedly, the corporate model (for-profit) would save money

whereas, government cannot not control expenses due to the nature of the institution.

Actually, this was in response to 'call of conscience movements' of the 1960's and 1970's. The Powers That Be (PTB) of the right wing did heavy investing in studies, politicians, and the media to change the course of thought in this nation. That was the beginning of a Public Relations attack on government spending and it was sticking in the minds of citizens.

People at the time were looking for the quick-fix to social problems and were given a rainbow for a solution.

Now, we have the privatization craze going forward and we are paying the price for it in the form of a regressive tax policy with an authoritarian bent.


Must say, welcome to D.U. Jon and good-luck

[panfluteman]

5. So Maddening, And So Sad!

Private corporations are not any better than government - in fact they're worse. But one thing they are good at, however, is profiteering and running up a bill if given half the chance. Beginning in the Reagan years, we started our long, slow descent into the nightmare we're now in, where federal, state and local budgets are balanced on the backs of those who are least able to pay, while those who are able to pay get off Scot free. It's a jungle out there, and those poor people with the least amount of political power are simply used as vehicles for profit - at the expense of the average taxpayer, who is not wealthy.