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Didn't the King get a bunch of federal subsidies to build out his infrastructure or something like that? Does that ring a bell?
by fnordfnordfnord 8y ago
Didn't the King get a bunch of federal subsidies to build out his infrastructure or something like that? Does that ring a bell?
- rayiner 8y agoAside from some stimulus money recently, no. Instead, they were subject to special extra taxes, like cigarettes: https://economics.mit.edu/files/1026 https://economics.mit.edu/files/1026. Telecom is unusual in that welfare is funded by taxing companies that provide the service rather than using general tax dollars: https://www.factcheck.org/2009/10/the-obama-phone https://www.factcheck.org/2009/10/the-obama-phone. If would be like charging Panera a tax on bread and then using it to buy food for homeless shelters.
- smolder 8y agoWhich would be reasonable if Panera bread had a protected Monopoly on bread selling, and great profit margins. The analogy breaks down but isps also way under invest in service and maintenance relative to demand. Because they can.