After months of hearing that we are in a “jobless recovery,” 60 Minutes decided to report what everyone has been saying for quite some time: The real unemployment numbers are even worse than most people think. When one counts people who have had their hours cut to part-time work, or those who have given up looking for a job, real unemployment is at 17 percent (22 percent in California). See the video below.
What is astonishing about this is that the stimulus was supposed to have kept unemployment below 8%. I think it missed the mark.
The House passed the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act on Wednesday. If it becomes law, the FCC would control the volume level of television commercials. Some of them are noticeably louder than regular programming. This is, to put it tactfully, irritating.
Rep. Rick Boucher told the Associated Press that “It’s an annoying experience, and something really should be done about it.”
He was talking about the commercials, though his remarks better fit the regulations he voted for.
Still, he’s right that something needs to be done. Loud commercials are a nuisance. They are also avoidable. For example, I avoid them by watching as little television as possible. Maybe read a book or spend time with loved ones instead. There are other ways, too. Here are a few:
-Use the mute button on your remote.
-If you have DVR and you’re watching a show you recorded, you can fast forward through the commercials.
-Change the channel.
-Let broadcasters know how you feel. Tell them not to run loud commercials. You can contact ABC here; CBS here; Fox here; and NBC here. They’d rather you watch their channel than not, after all. And the best way to prevent a viewer exodus is not alienating them.
Besides, they’d probably rather hear from you than the FCC.
(Hat tip to Fred Smith)
Your host Richard Morrison welcomes returning guest co-host William Yeatman and special guest commenter Ryan Radia to the program for Episode 61 of the LibertyWeek podcast. We start with the FCC’s just-announced proposal for “net neutrality,” Treasury documents that reveal the true cost of cap-and-trade legislation and the plan for getting over California’s great depression. We then move on to the G20 Summit’s potential path to prosperity and the ever-expanding scandal that is ACORN.
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