“The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.”

Socialist Party presidential candidate Norman Thomas


Friday, August 06, 2010

Your tax dollars at work


Rather than let ISP's decide how to best provide Internet service to rural customers, the federal government is taking money from you to pay for it....

Headline: “Stimulus” Money Subsidizing Rural Broadband At $5,525/Customer

From Sayanythingblog -- The USDA has given over $24 million in grants to two North Dakota telephone companies.

Griggs County Telephone received $22.1 million to provide high speed access to over 4,000 customers. Inter-Community Telephone was given $2.3 million to do the same with the hope of increasing service to 850 consumers. The money is part of the stimulus bill and is partially a grant and part loan.


The price for living in the North Dakota badlands or big-sky country in Montana is that you might have to put up with no media connections. That means little if any TV and no Internet unless you can figure out a way to do it via satellite. Why is it other taxpayers' responsibility to provide Internet service to people who choose to live where there isn't any? By the same token, why is it the responsibility of policy holders nationwide to pay higher premiums so that beach-front home owners in Florida can afford their otherwise unaffordable home policies?

The simple answer is that it is not. If you want Internet service, live where it's available or do without. The government isn't the answer to every whim or imagined need of every person in the country, though free-wheeling democrats want you to expect just that. Then they'll expect you to vote for them in return.

6 comments:

David said...

First it was "free" cellphones and service as a "right" not a "luxury" now this. Disheartening but not surprising. When will it be enough? When will we decide this country is worth fighting for literally and figuratively?

Or, is it too late? It is hard to convince me this is recoverable. Where's my fiddle?

Can anyone name the "famous" legendary fiddler? First correct answer get to go home early today!

Hint: He was wearing a toga.

ed said...

Was it Nero?

David said...

Turn off the lights on the way out. Have a great weekend.

Ed said...

Stay thirsty, my friend.

Michael said...

So the USDA can give grants for internet connections in the middle of Nowhere, USA but they can't give a lab a few thousand dollars to work on serious agricultural viruses? While we're at it, why don't we give them grants for high speed rail from their farms direct to the nearest major city?

If people can get subsidies for living in the middle of nowhere, I want a check for having to put up with living in cities run by Democrats.

ed said...

Michael, if democrat politicians thought you, and many like you, were potential democrat voters, they would be showering you with other peoples' money for all kinds of idiotic reasons. But since you are not, they will take money from you to buy votes from others.