Well... maybe rightly so.
If the state (and I don't use the word government here for a reason) deems it necessary to provide quality! TV (unbiased and comprehensive news coverage, documentaries) for the masses, it should be financed using tax money just like public roads. I'm not paying VAT for nothing. At least in Germany the public TV stations get their money anyways, so they might as well choose the less obnoxious way. Getting rid of the tv-fee-collecting-agency might save money too. If it were handled that way I could accept it as a given thing, no need for decoder boxes as well. Unfortunately these stations try to compete with private stations, which waters down the quality a lot. As I don't need the same crap I can have for free on private stations, quality must be #1 objective. Unfortunately the ones in charge mostly don't seem to feel that way.
There's also a tendency of dumbed down viewers. Too much 'big-brother' and all the other 'make me a rock star' shows. It's a terrible thing when I have to feel ashamed for somebody else.