Then imagine…

“Then imagine bumping into an old friend who tells you he’s now working in one of the old Soviet republics which has found it hard to throw off the state control. Here, your friend says, you have to inform the state of your address when you buy a television. This address and your name is then kept on a database which is used to verify whether you have a licence to own such an instrument. The state owned channel which you must pay for, whether you want its product or not, broadcasts to further the political Left, although in theory, they are meant to be impartial. And just in case you manage to get a TV without informing the authorities, the government have vans with electronic detection equipment that patrol the streets looking for signals that betray unlicensed TVs. If you’re caught without a licence you are heavily fined and could even be imprisoned.”

– a post by Gary Walker to this Telegraph forum.

ADDED LATER to the same post because it was so close in theme: Lib-Dem blogger Stephen Tall argues against his party’s policy on the licence fee. (Via the Adam Smith Institute.)