Oct 27, 2008

Your Tax Dollars at Work

No, it is not a “bailout scheme” designed to help NASCAR. Happily the nation’s most popular racing series doesn’t need a government handout. But the federal government has decided that NASCAR Sprint Cup racing is a bully pulpit for a message it wants to deliver. On Feb. 17, 2009, because of a government edict, your TV at home could go blank, and that would be a tragedy of no small proportions. So the federal government, through the Federal Communications Commission, has invested $350,000 in Yates Racing’s Ford Fusion. Starting this past weekend, the No. 38 car asked the provocative question “Are you ready for digital?” and detailed the dreaded date when, if you don’t have a digital-ready television and/or a converter box, you’ll be hard-pressed to receive reruns of Gilligan’s Island. Oh, the humanity!

Why has the FCC decided to throw this large chunk of your money and mine at NASCAR racing?

“It’s the leading spectator sport in the country,” FCC spokeswoman Mary Diamond told The Associated Press. “That is a great opportunity to get the word out about the transition.”

This, of course, is yet another instance of the U.S. government being wrong on the facts. NASCAR racing is big, but it certainly isn’t the top spectator sport in the country, and we have to wonder if the message on the hood of the No. 38 car is even registering with the public.

At least we taxpayers are getting some bang for our bucks. The $350,000 is said to be a 100,000 discount from what you would pay if you wanted to celebrate your child’s birthday by putting her face on the hood of the car. It also is good for three races -- Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, Phoenix and Miami. As an added fillip, the cryptic government Web site dtv is being depicted along the track, on the sides of the car and on the driver David Gilliland’s helmet and suit. It did get some TV coverage when the car crashed at Martinsville -- a bit of bonus coverage.

FCC chairman Kevin Martin predicted that the sponsorship will be extremely effective advertising. According to The Associated Press, Congress recently appropriated $20 million in fiscal 2009 for the FCC to market the changeover, which could leave nearly 10 million Americans without TV.