(deleted political diatribe)

Back to the subject. Being in a small GA aircraft I suspect ELT's can be buried under aluminum sheeting or sink if the plane is ditched and become not very useful. A PLB makes a lot of sense for GA, but PLB's won't be mandated by the FAA because they aren't part of the plane. 406 MHz PLB's are cheaper than 406 MHz ELT's also because they aren't part of the plane. Check ELT prices on the web and understand that those are uninstalled prices. All that money spent and after a crash an ELT might not work anyway.