I'd say we got trouble, my friend, with a capital T and a capital V and that stands for... you can figure the next part out yourself.
For the first time in decades -- actually, the first time ever -- the Nielsen Co. recently announced a decrease in its estimate of the number of U.S. TV Households. This year, Nielsen is estimating that number at 114.7 million households, down from last year's 115.9 million. At the same time, cable companies are seeing a decline in the number of cable subscribers.
Oh the humanity! What gives?...
No doubt, these declines are due, at least in part, to the human condition in the United States. With an economy and unemployment rates that rival the Great Depression, some are being forced to deny themselves all the pleasures that TV has to offer.
Let's look at what some of these unfortunate families are missing.
-- "Artists" like Charlie Sheen being paid millions of dollars for... well, frankly, for doing nothing.
-- Other haircut-challenged "stars," like David Spade and Ashton Kutcher, being paid millions of dollars for being what is mistakenly described as funny.
-- Oversized, heavily-padded men being paid millions by the NFL for beating their heads together.
-- MSNBC blaming all the problems of the world on the Republicans, and Fox "News" blaming the Democrats.
-- Young New York skanks being paid a ton of money for behaving like young New Jersey skanks. (As a life-long resident of New Jersey, trust me: I know New Jersey skanks when I see them.)
-- Rich, glamorous housewives from a variety of states (including New Jersey) screaming at each other and worrying about chipping a nail.
-- Any number of programs about people celebrating the misfortune of others by bidding on the storage lockers whose unfortunate renters could no longer afford to keep. Many of them contain family memories. But hey, who cares? At least somebody can make a few bucks.
-- And, of course, any number of shows about people who hoard, people who are pregnant at 16, people who are obese, people who will eat any type of food, people who eat anything that isn't food, people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol, and people who spend thousands of dollars dressing up their four-year-olds to look like 20-year-olds to compete in beauty pageants.
So it's really a shame. All those people who had to give up their TVs -- probably because they lost their jobs, lost their homes and, in some cases, lost their families -- just don't know what they're missing.