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Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the Ric

Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

henrin said:
actually, it would be nice if the government wasn't acting like i told them to be my mommy.
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"muh seatbelt!"
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

gavinfielder said:
Yeah, no, it doesn't work like that here.

Comcast used to have competition. Then they either bought them out or undercut them enough to force them to leave their ISP services.
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And Comcast then proceeds to offer horrible customer service and high prices.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

David_N said:
"muh seatbelt!"
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I will wear it if and only if I feel like it, mom.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

Anomalism said:
Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the Rich

Minnesota, once a state drowning in debt, is now being forced to deal with a new problem: how to spend their projected $1.9 billion budget surplus. The extra $1.9 billion is likely to be allocated toward early childhood education and providing high-speed internet to Minnesota residents, according to the West Central Tribune. Governor Mark Dayton, of Minnesota’s Democrat-Farm Labor Party, ran for office on a call to implement broadband internet “border-to-border” and has called for a $100 million infusion of funds, in conjunction with private investment, to build the initial infrastructure. While the total estimated cost to complete the job is $3.2 billion, Gov. Dayton has plenty of money to work with — the surplus is more than double what the state legislature had on hand by the end of this year’s legislative session in June.
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Well let's see if their service is better than ComCast
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

Henrin said:
I will wear it if and only if I feel like it, mom.
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I've summed up libertarianism perfectly, right wing libertarianism that is, in regards to America.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

David_N said:
You could argue anything they want to do will undercut business. It's a silly argument, there's a reason they're doing this.
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and what is that reason?
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

David_N said:
I've summed up libertarianism perfectly, right wing libertarianism that is, in regards to America.
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That libertarians don't like self appointed nannies and are perfectly comfortable telling these self appointed nannies where to shove it?
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

eohrnberger said:
Well, that may pay for the infrastructure and the first year of broadband Internet for everyone.

What about the second year?
And the years there after?
What about the needed maintenance to keep it running correctly?
(Networks like this aren't a set it up and forget it type of deal. They need nearly constant care and feeding)
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Oh sure.

So an average 95% profit margin on ISP services must cover that reaalllly well.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

David_N said:
You could argue anything they want to do will undercut business. It's a silly argument, there's a reason they're doing this.
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Because liberals feel it the governments job to provide people things that liberals feel people deserve?
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

David_N said:
Look at what the communists are doing now! MUH FREEDOMS! I want my overpriced, monopolized Internet from Comcast!
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Increasing one mans freedom by decreasing yours!

Liberals, they just don't get freedom.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

David_N said:
Actually, yes. If you go back before we had public schooling, few people were educated, and there was a huge gap in education between the poor and the wealthy. Private enterprise can build infrastructure, literally no one argues they can't, the problem is, why would they build it for public use?
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What in the world? Do you even know what the word few means? Look at the percentage of people considered literate and then the percentage of children going to private school or being taught elsewhere. Anyone that says that was just a few people has no idea what math is.

Why would they they not build it for public use? Seriously, businesses move on their roads and they make money.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

gavinfielder said:
Oh sure.

So an average 95% profit margin on ISP services must cover that reaalllly well.
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I believe that I've raised legitimate questions as to the continued maintenance and support costs.
It is often the case that in times of surplus cash, government over extends itself unwisely, and then later, has trouble covering the costs.

  • It allows the infrastructure to go into disrepair.
  • The service is compromised.
  • People start bitching about it,
  • The government passes yet additional taxes to bring the infrastructure back into barely operating condition, etc. etc.
So in other words gross mismanagement, a viable and decent resource for no one, yet typically expensive for the tax base to support.

What's to prevent this from being yet another repeat of the same? This same repeated pattern?

I don't think that I raised the question of pro-ISP or anti-ISP. A separate issue, isn't it?
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

David_N said:
And Comcast then proceeds to offer horrible customer service and high prices.
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Do you really think that the government run network is going to be any better? Seriously? :lamo
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

eohrnberger said:
Do you really think that the government run network is going to be any better? Seriously? :lamo
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But didn't you know that public education is cheap? If you don't mind though, can you please only look at the price poor people are paying and not the actual price tag? Liberals everywhere will be happy if you did.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

eohrnberger said:
I believe that I've raised legitimate questions as to the continued maintenance and support costs.
It is often the case that in times of surplus cash, government over extends itself unwisely, and then later, has trouble covering the costs.

  • It allows the infrastructure to go into disrepair.
  • The service is compromised.
  • People start bitching about it,
  • The government passes yet additional taxes to bring the infrastructure back into barely operating condition, etc. etc.
So in other words gross mismanagement, a viable and decent resource for no one, yet typically expensive for the tax base to support.

What's to prevent this from being yet another repeat of the same? This same repeated pattern?

I don't think that I raised the question of pro-ISP or anti-ISP. A separate issue, isn't it?
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Based on the financial performance of major ISPs, nobody can think for a second that a state-owned business can't do just as well as a privately owned business in the same industry, even while drastically lowering prices.

And of course we're talking about ISPs. This thread is about internet provision, right?
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

countryboy said:
Why would you think I couldn't find Minnesota on a map? I'm not a lib.
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There's some irony here though, since all 3 branches of Minnesota's government were Democratic until last year, where Congress flipped GOP, but the Senate and Governor remain Dem.

Assuming you believe Dem = Liberal, of course?

But I'd say the liberals are finding Minnesota just fine, and are even running a budget surplus once they get there! :mrgreen:

jonny5 said:
The internet IS infrastructure. Cables and switches. Comcast has spent billions to put them in the ground. Now the govt is going to take billions more from citizens, and end up doing a worse job at a higher cost, just like the interstates.
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To the bolded: Private enterprise is doing a better job at building roads than the government?

Sorry, but I see very few roads where private entities have met the people's needs.

There may be a few isolated examples, but I've seen very few in the larger scheme of things.

And I've driven a lot of roads!
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

gavinfielder said:
Based on the financial performance of major ISPs, nobody can think for a second that a state-owned business can't do just as well as a privately owned business in the same industry, even while drastically lowering prices.

And of course we're talking about ISPs. This thread is about internet provision, right?
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I think proof of this can be found in some GOP controlled state legislatures passing legislation *banning* municipalities from developing their own broadband infrastructures!

Ostensibly, the teleco corporations that have the legislators in their pockets know they've got a scam over on the citizenry - and they intend on keeping it! Because they can! :(
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

OrphanSlug said:
An almost $2 Billion budget surplus is a great "problem" to have, they should dump the majority of that into education and infrastructure.
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No, they should put that money into reducing their debt, so that they can use the savings that brings to keep on funding education and infrastructure over the long haul, instead of taking the short term approach and spending on things that demand more money without having a reliable source of funding to sustain those investments. If you build a school but don't make sure that you can fund it operation, then you just wasted your money. If you pave a highway, but lack the funds to keep it repaired so that it ends up right back it where it was, then you have wasted your money.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

jonny5 said:
No DSL, satellite, cellular?
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Shhh... That would require time and effort to find out. Not handed to you on silver platter so that all you have to do call the number on the big billboard you see every day on the way home.....
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

David_N said:
I've summed up libertarianism perfectly, right wing libertarianism that is, in regards to America.
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I am sure you haven't.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

OrphanSlug said:
Not quite accurate, this sort of surplus (from taxation changes) needed to be obtained first. Then they could decide what to do with it, otherwise you have deficits.
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In TX, we've had a surplus for years where every interest group in the state lines up trying to get the Legislature to give them some. It's fun to watch.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

gavinfielder said:
Seriously? Cell data is even worse an offender of monopolistic practices, phone companies either don't offer internet or have simply been bought up by ATT or Comcast, and Satellite is a defunct market in all but rural areas.

So, no.
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So your problem is that competitors have inferior products then, not that they dont exist. Which is why comcast dominates. They have the best product.
 
Re: Comcast PANICS: Minnesota Rolls Out Free High-Speed Internet Funded by Taxing the

faithful_servant said:
Shhh... That would require time and effort to find out. Not handed to you on silver platter so that all you have to do call the number on the big billboard you see every day on the way home.....
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Imagine if they actually had to start a company and become a competitor. No, they want the govt to do that for them.
 
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