People are cutting their streaming services because of inflation

You’ve probably heard or read in the news that many people are ditching not just Netflix but other paid-for streaming services due to inflation. In Canada, Trudeau’s new tax on streaming services no doubt exacerbated this drop in business for providers.

Seems folks don’t want to pay exorbitant amounts for maybe one good program and a lot of trash to go with it. Let’s face it, that’s how the streaming providers have set it up.

In the ‘old days’ – younger readers gasp and roll their eyes – TV used to be good and guess what? You still could get a lot of quality stuff without cable. If you did choose to get cable, it was about $10 per month and opened the door to even more channels… especially up here in Canada where all the major USA stations – and not just some – suddenly came into view.

Only the worst skinflint didn’t get cable in those days. Even the poor on social assistance could afford cable.

These days it’s a different story. The general standard of living has plummeted, and we live in a world of violence, crime, corruption, war, and uncertainty.

But there’s hope. With a little digging, there is some good stuff to watch for free. You may have to tolerate a few ads but cannot argue with the price for an evening’s escape from the madness of 21st-century life.

First up, in Canada anyway, is the BBC classic Downton Abbey.

I just discovered this early 20th-century period piece that begins with the sinking of the Titanic. We never see the Titanic but do witness how the deaths affect an aristocratic English family. In Season 2, where I’m now at, WW-I breaks out, ends, and Brits start coming down with the Spanish Flu, which was like Covid-19 without vaccines.

There’s so much good in this series that I hesitate to write about it in this short blog entry. Also, it is about ten years old, so many of my readers will probably be acquainted with the story. But just in case you haven’t seen Downton Abbey, I fully recommend it to those with any interest in British history around the time of WW-I.

Watching this excellent show takes our upcoming ‘Remembrance Day’ to a whole new level. And its refreshing lack of political correctness depicts the age without any heavy-handed attempt to rewrite or whitewash history, as has become so fashionable today.