Republicans Trying To Kill Program That Brings Affordable Broadband To The Poor
from the dysfunction-junction dept
Last month we noted how a program aimed at helping low income Americans afford broadband was at risk of being dismantled thanks to congressional incompetence and corruption.
The FCC program, dubbed the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), was part of the 2021 infrastructure bill. It provides low-income Americans $30 off their monthly broadband bill. 22 million Americans are currently receiving the discount. It’s a useful program, but it’s poised to run out of money in April. And efforts to continue funding it are being obstructed by the GOP, which is falsely insisting it’s “wasteful”:
“As lawmakers with oversight responsibility over the ACP, we have raised concerns, shared by the FCC Inspector General, regarding the program’s effectiveness in connecting non-subscribers to the Internet,” the lawmakers wrote. “While you have repeatedly claimed that the ACP is necessary for connecting participating households to the Internet, it appears the vast majority of tax dollars have gone to households that already had broadband prior to the subsidy.”
The complaint is misleading. The program’s primary function isn’t so much expanding broadband access (there’s a separate, $42.5 billion budget included in the infrastructure bill for that), so much as it is ensuring that broadband is affordable for struggling, low-income Americans.
As we’ve explored at length, U.S. broadband is hugely expensive due to corruption, regulatory capture, mindless consolidation, monopolization, and a lack of competition. These are all concepts the GOP has long, clearly, and very vocally supported via attacks on both corporate accountability, community-supported broadband, regulatory oversight, and any effort to rein in unchecked telecom monopoly power (note: Republicans tried to ban community-owned and operated broadband networks during the peak of the pandemic because Comcast and AT&T asked them to).
If the GOP’s attacks on the ACP succeed, 22 million Americans will suddenly be socked with a significantly higher bill. Many of these users signed up for the program (and broadband service) during the peak of COVID lockdowns to ensure their kids could attend class. Keep in mind: the lion’s share of the GOP voted against the infrastructure bill, but routinely takes credit for its benefits among local constituents.
In reality, the GOP is opposing the program because it’s popular and successful. The pretense is they’re worried about high costs (its original price tag was $14.2 billion), yet the same party routinely signs off on huge payouts to telecoms that serve no coherent purpose. Recall that AT&T alone nabbed $42 billion from the Trump era tax cuts in exchange for doing absolutely nothing. That’s on top of billions in taxpayer subsidies and regulatory favors that routinely don’t deliver what they promise.
To be clear, the ACP is not a serious, long-term fix to the problem of affordable broadband. It basically involves taking taxpayer money and throwing it at regional telecom monopolies (directly responsible for high broadband prices in the first place) so they’ll temporarily reduce their high rates. And when it was first implemented, several big ISPs like Verizon and Charter gamed the system to upcharge customers.
The real solution is cracking down on monopoly power and supporting pro-competitive policies (including support for municipal, cooperative, and utility-run broadband networks). But the FCC and Congress have been generally too corrupt and captured to do that, so this is what we got instead.
None of that means this program doesn’t provide real-world value to struggling Americans.
It’s aggressively unfair to introduce such a program during peak COVID, then rip the program out from under the feet of 22 million low-income Americans. All so the GOP can put on a hollow performance about how they’re concerned with runaway costs. Their opposition here is both performative and political, and it will come with a very real human cost.
Filed Under: ACP, affordable, Affordable Connectivity Program, broadband, fcc, high speed internet, low income
Comments on “Republicans Trying To Kill Program That Brings Affordable Broadband To The Poor”
Republicans Trying To Kill Program That Brings Affordable Broadband To The Poor
Before they let the Republicans kill anything (or anyone), maybe the Poor should kill the Republicans first.
Sorry, but that was my first thought after reading the headline.
Re: better
Send a note of Who in congress Voted Which way.
Re: Internet
Shame that democrats want to just keep giving everything away using my hard earned money, sure this article is only looking at one side of the issue. Pretty sure democrats want to tag on more to a bill than meets the eye of giving more free money away.
I’m sure there are many republicans saying those damn poor people should just get jobs and pay their own way.
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Many working poor have multiple jobs and still do not have enough for both food and shelter. This is by design, it is intentional and disgusting.
Republicans do not like poor people.
Why are poor people republicans, do they hate themselves?
Depressed republicans’ self hatred used as bludgeon in their own deprecation.
I don’t get it.
Re:
“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” – Lyndon B. Johnson
That’s definitely part of it. People who benefit the most from economic policies designed to help the poor will vote against it because they don’t want their tax dollars helping somebody else, especially if their skin color is different. It’s completely selfish.
Political identity is another big part. I know liberal Republicans who vote Republican simply because they’ve always done that.
Re: Re:
You know Congressional Democrats?
Re: Re: Re: Party splits.
There are actually splits within parties. I personally am registered libertarian. It may not be 50/50, but there are left libertarians, and like me, right leaning ones.
I know this is most likely the case in the republican party, but how prevalent it is, I’m not sure. People like Kinzinger in the house could qualify as liberal.
Re: Re: Re:2
Pew breaks the parties into four blocks. But I think, like their rather limited targeting in polling, they over simplify it.
There’s three distinct groups in the Dems. The career democrats, or the old guard, the progressives, and the neo-progressives.
Republicans are much harder to comprehend, why most liberals just toss them all in the bonfire. You have both economic and social conservatives, together the older career entrenched. The slightly younger neo hawks. The “flag and faith” Republicans, the militant right, the liberal right, etc.
they are a kind of infighting melting pot of others.
And that’s ignoring the many dozens of small parties that block vote for one or the other, and the non-party types that jump in.
Re: Re: I tend to go by
The idea that at Birth, we have only 1 way to communicate, and the Church and a few others take advantage of this. Voice and sound. As a child your instinct to survive is based on being TOLD what to do. and you are told the only choice is to hope and pray.
It takes a Long time before you are taught to read, then to Understand, then to COMPREHEND words and meaning.
And most of you already understand the ENGLISH language is a huge pile of monkey poo, being thrown around, WHICH little meaning/truth involved.
Ever wonder WHY the GOP used the word Conservative? and not tell anyone what its meaning is? ITS not for religious.
Re: Re: acp
most of not all of con gress is multi millionaires from insider trading schemes and “campaign contributions”. if those banend and corrupt congress people were executed on tv the acp program would get permanent funding at double the current rate
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It’s a similar things with Crafts and Technicians in unions based on my experience. Why do they so dearly love the political party that would abolish the organizations that help them provide so exceptionally well for their familys? It’s just baffling.
And the individuals who are the most MAGA are also the ones that will use the weight of the union to bully anyone else doing ‘their work’. Even when it’s not remotely their work.
Re:
In addition to the Lyndon B. Johnson quote you’ve also got ‘A nation of temporarily embarrassed millionaires’ in play, where those with little money will cheer on, support and outright defend those with piles of money because they’re sure that any day now that’ll be them, and when that happens they certainly don’t want any silly restrictions on them and their wealth.
You only need one word to sum up Republican policy: cruelty. That’s all they really have at this point. No wonder they’re so eager to put a fascist back in the White House.
If a Republican does not see a benefit to a program then is it really needed
Republicans want to cancel any program from which they do not personally benefit.
School Lunch… their child has plenty to eat
Food stamps or whatever its called today… their family has plenty to eat and don’t really need to worry about prices.
Social Security and Medicare… they have plenty in the bank and investments as well as the best Medical Benefits they can charge the taxpayers
They can afford Broadband at any price… why would they care that some poor slob can’t
The cruelty is the point.
Republicans Trying To Kill Program That Brings Affordable Broadband To The Poor
Republicans Kill Program That Brings Affordable Broadband To The Poor
Republicans Kill Affordable Broadband To The Poor
Republicans Kill Broadband To The Poor
Republicans Kill The Poor
'Free money for major corporations? Why didn't you say so, of course I'm in!'
If democrats want to save the program they just need to shift how it’s described. Rather than frame it as helping the poor that the republicans don’t care about they should frame it as corporate welfare, helping the ISP’s by ensuring a steady stream of taxpayer dollars into their pockets.
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Sad thing is, this would probably work.
Comcast is $10 a month for the poor, probably their way of avoiding scrutiny for the other stuff.
What an ignorant article.
Since when did Democrats become the party of big corporations?
Do people really think a government program is just a free money handout?
Any government subsidized program uses tax dollars (everyone’s money) or just prints it (causing inflation…again, everyone’s money.) That money goes right into the coffers of these corporations and the underlying corruption continues.
Let the free markets work it out. If big telecom corps want customers, and therefore income, they can lower their prices and let their profits take the hit rather than the regular working-class paying for it after the government siphoning off their “x% for the Big Guy”.
I know it’s considered “cool” these days to sling mud in politics, but common sense would say you are pointing the finger at the wrong bad guy. Government needs to hold corporations accountable, not create addition revenue streams for them.
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And how’s that been working out in places where the “free market” for Internet service is limited to one major ISP?
ACP just incentivizes the big companies that already have infrastructure to keep that infrastructure and not to upgrade it to newer fiber technology. Yet they will continue to feast on the government dollars. I agree with the comment saying it is an ignorant article. This money primarily lines the pockets of the big cable companies. What we need is more competition to drive the costs down.
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What we need is more competition to drive the costs down.
Agreed, we can call that ‘the long term solution’ unless you’ve come up with a revolutionary method to create a thriving and competitive ISP industry overnight, but until that happens by all means feel free to come up with a way to help those with financial issues afford internet access that doesn’t involve giving money to the current ISPs.
So much cringe here. Republicans bad, blah blah.
This is just a massive give away to huge corporations. You guys are probably the same simpletons that fall for that whole “we have to help our farmers” – when the fact is that most farm $ subsidies go to billion-dollar corporations such as Conagra and Archer Daniels Midland.
“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” AE
Please don’t take the help we so need low income it really helps thanks
Federal internet. A low cost or free government rollout the equivalent of power and water.
Then a government service to compete with commercial entities.
Of course republicans want to kill ACP.
Because they can’t do anything else good for anyone else, and that goes for Congress as a whole. Therefore, they want to ruin something nice for all of us. I think the FCC should tell the ISPs to take the $30 on themselves, we’ll see how they like that. Of course they won’t actually do it, and I’m not sure about trade laws and how it would work.
I’m disabled and have actually used ACP myself. Can I pay the $80 something for 200 MB internet? Yeah sure, do I want to? No, not really, because I’m on a fixed income, and some months it’s harder than most.
These headlines are always rather funny, it’s not as though Democrats need any help ruining their broadband bills. Obama burned billions after all, and Trump brought in Ajit Pie. Almost like there’s no differences between the two parties, huh?