We had a program to make mail available.
We had a program to make electricity available.
We had a program to make telephone service available.
Now, now only is the internet a comparable public need to those services, but most of the developed world is now far ahead of the US on internet availability.
Why can’t we invest in universal wired/wireless high speed internet service in our country?
Hillary actually proposed this — but I didn’t know that until I just googled to check.
Bernie did, too, but I didn’t know THAT, as familiar as I was with his campaign, until I just googled it.
The first article I saw for him said about his $1 trillion infrastructure plan:
Considering that one of the major problems with our country’s communications infrastructure is that it doesn’t provide high-speed Internet access to all Americans, it is troubling that this aspect of Sanders’ infrastructure plan isn’t receiving more attention. Indeed, even if it wasn’t part of a more ambitious economic package, a concrete policy for addressing America’s Internet access problem should be required of every presidential candidate.
It also supports my previous point:
A recent study by Ookla Speedtest found that America ranks 31st in the world when it comes to average download speeds and 42nd in average upload speeds.
While we’re at it, why haven’t I seen a platform measure to repeal the 1996 Telecommunications Act’s bad changes like the allowing of monopolies by telecommunications companies?
President Obama has made efforts — but they also haven’t received the big project and publicity approach I’m talking about:
For example, President Obama’s signature economic stimulus package included $7.2 billion for broadband grant and loan programs. In the process, it extended broadband Internet to thousands of rural communities, prompting Obama to return to the subject this year. The ConnectHome program is expected to bring high-speed Internet to 275,000 public housing families in 27 cities, with several thousand individuals under the age of 18.
Even if the Obama administration doesn’t achieve its stated goal of giving 99 percent of Americans home access to high-speed Internet, this will still be quite an achievement.
We shouldn’t really be sweeping issues like this aside because of more pressing things like “prevent nuclear war by the monster about to get the button” and “investigate his treason”.
Isn’t this just a commonsense, ‘we’re on the side of the people look at those Republicans against your interests’, good-government public interest issue good on policy and politics?
Even if Democrats just introduce a bill for this and Republicans vote no, isn’t that good politics?
Let’s change the discussion some from Republicans’‘you’d be rich if only the evil government stopped prohibiting pollution’ anti-regulation to ‘Republicans are why you can’t have nice things’.