Don’t mess with digital switch-over

Would it be a national crisis if a small percentage of American homes that still receive TV signals over the air -- cable and satellite customers would not be affected -- turned on their TVs come Feb. 17 and found they didn't work?

Even though those consumers can easily buy a converter box -- at $40 to $80 -- to translate the new digital TV signals back to analog for older sets? Even though the Commerce Department has already sent out $1.34 billion in coupons -- that's "billion" with a "b" -- to make the converters more affordable to low-income folks?

Back in 2005, Congress announced it was going to require broadcasters to switch on that date from analog to digital signals, which are more efficient, thus freeing up valuable chunks of wireless spectrum to be used for commercial services and emergency-response networks.

The Nielsen Co. estimates more than 6.5 million U.S. households that rely on analog television sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals are still not prepared for the transition -- though that could include consumers who have already purchased a converter box but not yet installed it.

The Obama administration apparently believes those numbers represent a crisis. Earlier this month the administration called for the transition date to be postponed till June.

But on Wednesday, House Republicans defeated a bill to delay the upcoming transition to June 12.

The 258-168 vote failed to clear the two-thirds threshold needed for passage, though Democrats could still bring the bill back for a regular majority floor vote.

What Americans crave from government -- especially in an era when many fear for their jobs, as well as for their retirements -- is consistency and predictability.

If Washington promises "bailout" funds will be used in a certain way, and investors commit resources based on that assurance, how much more reluctant will they be the next time, after a Treasury Secretary and a Fed chairman chuckle, "Whoops, changed our minds"?

Will a delay till June guarantee that no one "fails to get the news"? Of course not.

It doesn't so much matter whether the decision to switch over on Feb. 17 was perfect. What matters is that the government made a decision. If it can't stick by its guns on this minor matter, what promises will it break next?