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If I qualified for a coupon and then decided to update my system so the box is not needed, I too would sell the coupon or the box. It does not affect the government program as I can not apply for another.
We could look at the slowdown of the conversion in another way, by halting the changeover, it reduces the investment by the roughly 1,000,000 persons that could be spending money to stimulate the economy. I'm not sure what the price of the box is but simply do the math. It may be better to withdraw the coupons and maintain the date. This would promote the sale of boxes or even new televisions in a short term stimulatng the economy.
Of course the government could have simply allowed a deduction against income on the tax return or a refundable tax credit and done away with the overhead of the program all together. The economic stimulus package last year required even those who were not required to file a tax return so it could have been added in on the return and accomplished it.
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