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In reply to the discussion: 10 things that used to be free [View all]a kennedy
(29,606 posts)1. This one is the just the worse......
4. Television
Years ago, TVs with "rabbit ears" might have looked silly, but the programming was free. Today, local TV is still free, but more than 100 million American households pay for it through cable and satellite providers. And we are still watching commercials.
Commercials.....CAN NOT STAND THEM..... I love my DVR. But when watching my Packers play football live.......thank gawd there are other channels I can turn to to watch during the commercials.
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Before deregulation they used to limit the commercial time in an hour of programming.
Doremus
Oct 2012
#50
That is all because they don't want you in your room, they want you in their casino!
blueamy66
Oct 2012
#18
Same thing with campgrounds - KOA=free wifi, Disney=$10/day, and it's wired n/t
woodsprite
Oct 2012
#28
Not only campgrounds -- national parks, recreation areas, national forest lands, etc. Charging
HiPointDem
Oct 2012
#39
"Trash pickup =" Depends upon one's community. I pay for private; next twnshp over is paid by taxes.
WinkyDink
Oct 2012
#15
Full service stations did not completely disappear, Oregon has only full service
Bluenorthwest
Oct 2012
#21
For a person from OR or NJ to get a drivers license in GA they have to demonstrate that they are
Erose999
Oct 2012
#29
yep. the same thing happened to bus travel when they broke the unions. from a reasonably
HiPointDem
Oct 2012
#40
this is the one that pisses me off. We pay more for water than for gas yet no one complains.
Hamlette
Oct 2012
#23
Today, local TV is still free, but more than 100 million American households pay for it = NOT FREE.
WinkyDink
Oct 2012
#14
If you ditch cable and don't get the satellite, you can pick up many local stations for free
liberal N proud
Oct 2012
#34
A lot of Internet bill paying involves a fee (a "convenience" fee). That's after they pushed...
HopeHoops
Oct 2012
#17
I'm sorry, but that is simply not true. None of those things were truly free.
slackmaster
Oct 2012
#22