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> There are underserved populations that can't get better internet, even if they want it. Isn't fixing that a reasonable policy goal? Sure. Yet, looking at pr

> There are underserved populations that can't get better internet, even if they want it. Isn't fixing that a reasonable policy goal? Sure. Yet, looking at problems as if they are single-variable cause-effect issues is to reduce complex multivariate issues (they all are) to ridiculous fantasy models. The government should not force businesses to make unprofitable decisions or contort their decisions into bullshit racism implications. The solution is very simple: If the FCC thinks these communities are not served well enough, they are free to trench the streets, install fiber to every home and provide them with amazing government run service at low cost or zero cost. And yet, that would be a terrible solution. We need to pull back from the micro level and look at it from a broader perspective. The federal government is burning $1.7 billion PER YEAR maintaining empty buildings for decades: "The 132-year-old brick structure is sitting on prime real estate six blocks from the White House. It was once a school, but it's been vacant for almost three decades." https://www.npr.org/2014/03/12/287349831/governments-empty-buildings-are-costing-taxpayers-billions https://www.npr.org/2014/03/12/287349831/governments-empty-b... That money is being burned...every year. What would happen if they just got rid of those properties and shifted just one third of that budget to subsidize such things as internet access to various underserved areas? That's over $500 billion PER YEAR. Charter Communications, one of the largest companies in the sector, has a gross annual revenue of approximately $50 billion per year. Give them $50 billion of the money being wasted and stipulate that money has to go towards delivering outstanding internet connectivity in designated areas. Heck, with $50 billion of free money they could probably get 1 Gigabit fiber to every single one of our homes, including less profitable areas. Do that with nine other companies. The result would be unbelievable. And here's the best part: It's a one-time cost. We would be saving $1.7 billion per year and spending $500 billion one time. Even if the actual cost is double that, it's still a deal. The point is that it is easy to get lost in the feelings and outrage of our sad victim society while ignoring the absolute fact that we could be doing a lot better for everyone if we demanded better results from our government. Here we are, discussing the financially-microscopic problem of relatively few underserved communities while not making the connection with government waste and incompetence --in the trillions-- that could do magical things for every single person in this nation if brought under control. A trillion dollars is a massive amount of money. If put to good use most of the problems in this country would evaporate, from housing to healthcare and internet access so everyone can be on Tik Tok all day. Perspective is important. We have already done enough damage to our industrial and commercial business sectors. Before we achieve total internal destruction, we might just want to consider that getting our government under financial control (at all levels) would have the effect of injecting trillions of dollars into the economy, which would be nothing less than magical. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/18/heres-how-the-federal-government-wastes-tax-money.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/18/heres-how-the-federal-govern...

Retric 3y ago
> What would happen if they just got rid of those properties and shifted just one third of that budget to subsidize such things as internet access to various underserved areas? That's over $500 billion PER YEAR. No, it’s not 500B per year. Just as a sanity check we aren’t spending more than twice as much on empty buildings than the Air Force. Also, the US government has heavily subsidized broadband rollouts, arguing about profits while ignoring subsidies is silly. If we’ve learned anything over the last 30 years of broadband subsidies is handing them more money won’t solve the problem.
- robomartin 3y ago
  > No, it’s not 500B per year. Just as a sanity check we aren’t spending more than twice as much on empty buildings than the Air Force. Just for sanity check, why don't you do a modicum of research before posting nonsense? What a concept! Here, I'll help you. Read this report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-106200.pdf https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-106200.pdf From the document: "the 24 FRPC agencies spend about $2 billion a year to operate and maintain owned federal office buildings. In addition, agencies may postpone maintenance and repairs to assets in their portfolios for various reasons, which over time can create a backlog of costly deferred maintenance and repairs." "In addition, allowing unneeded leases to expire would directly reduce costs. Federal agencies spend about $5 billion annually to lease office space from the private and government sector" And here's the "Oh, shit!" realization: "GAO and others have reported on issues with managing repairs and maintenance in federally owned facilities, which are costly to the federal government. Federal agency financial reports have reported $76 billion in deferred maintenance and repair costs in 2021, an increase of about 50 percent since 2017." $76 BILLION in deferred maintenance and repairs just two years ago. What do you want to bet this number doesn't go down any time soon and will absolutely explode into hundreds of billions if not dealt with in some form within a decade? In other words, it is worse than the $1.7 billion per year being quoted, massively worse. Here's another article on the subject: https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-jeff-denham-government-property-bill-20160303-story.html https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-jeff-denham-gover... How about we look at other issues? Here's a simple one: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/18/heres-how-the-federal-government-wastes-tax-money.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/18/heres-how-the-federal-govern... "Improper payments, which refer to payments that are made incorrectly by the government, cost the U.S. $247 billion in 2022, according to the Government Accountability Office. The U.S. government has lost almost $2.4 trillion in simple payment errors over the last two decades, by GAO estimates." > If we’ve learned anything over the last 30 years of broadband subsidies is handing them more money won’t solve the problem. Duh. Any business person knows this. Here's a concept: Establish clear objectives, milestones, accountability and supervise, supervise, supervise. The problem isn't subsidies at all. The problem is that our government is incompetent at nearly every level. Again, big picture instead of hyperventilating at the micro level. Fix root causes. The root cause has to do with truly incompetent and unmotivated people managing billion dollar programs. Why would these agencies be any better than the DMV? There's a fundamental need to drive for competence and results in government. Until we do that nothing else will ever be solved.

Retric 3y ago

> What would happen if they just got rid of those properties and shifted just one third of that budget to subsidize such things as internet access to various underserved areas? That's over $500 billion PER YEAR. No, it’s not 500B per year. Just as a sanity check we aren’t spending more than twice as much on empty buildings than the Air Force. Also, the US government has heavily subsidized broadband rollouts, arguing about profits while ignoring subsidies is silly. If we’ve learned anything over the last 30 years of broadband subsidies is handing them more money won’t solve the problem.

robomartin 3y ago
> No, it’s not 500B per year. Just as a sanity check we aren’t spending more than twice as much on empty buildings than the Air Force. Just for sanity check, why don't you do a modicum of research before posting nonsense? What a concept! Here, I'll help you. Read this report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-106200.pdf https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-106200.pdf From the document: "the 24 FRPC agencies spend about $2 billion a year to operate and maintain owned federal office buildings. In addition, agencies may postpone maintenance and repairs to assets in their portfolios for various reasons, which over time can create a backlog of costly deferred maintenance and repairs." "In addition, allowing unneeded leases to expire would directly reduce costs. Federal agencies spend about $5 billion annually to lease office space from the private and government sector" And here's the "Oh, shit!" realization: "GAO and others have reported on issues with managing repairs and maintenance in federally owned facilities, which are costly to the federal government. Federal agency financial reports have reported $76 billion in deferred maintenance and repair costs in 2021, an increase of about 50 percent since 2017." $76 BILLION in deferred maintenance and repairs just two years ago. What do you want to bet this number doesn't go down any time soon and will absolutely explode into hundreds of billions if not dealt with in some form within a decade? In other words, it is worse than the $1.7 billion per year being quoted, massively worse. Here's another article on the subject: https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-jeff-denham-government-property-bill-20160303-story.html https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-jeff-denham-gover... How about we look at other issues? Here's a simple one: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/18/heres-how-the-federal-government-wastes-tax-money.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/18/heres-how-the-federal-govern... "Improper payments, which refer to payments that are made incorrectly by the government, cost the U.S. $247 billion in 2022, according to the Government Accountability Office. The U.S. government has lost almost $2.4 trillion in simple payment errors over the last two decades, by GAO estimates." > If we’ve learned anything over the last 30 years of broadband subsidies is handing them more money won’t solve the problem. Duh. Any business person knows this. Here's a concept: Establish clear objectives, milestones, accountability and supervise, supervise, supervise. The problem isn't subsidies at all. The problem is that our government is incompetent at nearly every level. Again, big picture instead of hyperventilating at the micro level. Fix root causes. The root cause has to do with truly incompetent and unmotivated people managing billion dollar programs. Why would these agencies be any better than the DMV? There's a fundamental need to drive for competence and results in government. Until we do that nothing else will ever be solved.