Thread: Internet Welfare

I guess I am not all that surprised that in exchange for what Comcast wants they have to "give" these things the way Obama wants.

That, of course, someone else (Comcast customers) will have to pay for.

Originally Posted by tsquare

You read that correctly.

Demanded by this administration were the following terms:


You now have the 'right' to the internet... for less than $10 a month. And a under market priced laptop.

How nice.

Life!
Liberty!
and now the internet!

I am so looking forward to going broke so that I can start getting handed all the stuff that I've been working so hard for all these years.

Originally Posted by tsquare

That, of course, someone else (Comcast customers) will have to pay for.

In one way or another, yes. There must me more "deals" over this one, can't wait for more to come out.

Piss and moan, piss and moan. I see that no source of this is posted, curious as to wonder why not.

Besides, in comse 3rd war countries they are going to sell under $100 internet computers. So they'll be making more than $50 profit per each unit sold here. Pretty good profit margin.

Comcast-NBC Deal Coming To A TV Near You : NPR

from this link

The deal creates a media giant that will control much of what viewers watch and the way they access it. Los Angeles Times reporter Joe Flint joins Liane Hansen to explain how the massive deal will and will not affect consumers.

The new company will connect millions of homes to the Internet and control one of Hollywood's biggest movie studios. In other words, if you watch, download, subscribe or buy a ticket, you may be doing business with the new merged company.

So they aren't 'giving' away anything, they are getting a hell of a lot more than just providing internet service.

Well here is one source that basically says what the OP is suggesting.

Robert Steele: Comcast-NBCU Deal Benefits African Americans

Broadband Development and Adoption

As access to broadband has become increasingly essential to educational and employment opportunities, African Americans and members of other underserved communities have lagged behind in broadband deployment and adoption. Leaving these communities out of the broadband revolution is unacceptable.

Comcast's new commitments strike at the heart of this important concern. In addition to expanding its existing networks and high-speed service for schools, libraries, and community institutions in underserved areas, the company will launch the Comcast Broadband Opportunity Program (CBOP), which provides families with children eligible for the National School Lunch Program with broadband access for only $9.95 per month, as well as access to affordable computer equipment. Broadband can be a critical bridge to economic mobility and better education, a fact that Comcast is now pledged to more widely publicize in our communities.

Originally Posted by ConLib

Piss and moan, piss and moan. I see that no source of this is posted, curious as to wonder why not.

Cause I forgot...

Comcast: $10/month Internet—and cheap netbooks—for the poor

Originally Posted by ConLib

So they aren't 'giving' away anything, they are getting a hell of a lot more than just providing internet service.

Of course. That's the heart and soul of corporatism. Basically government has become the means for the major corporate interests divvying up the spoils.

Originally Posted by dblack

Of course. That's the heart and soul of corporatism. Basically government has become the means for the major corporate interests divvying up the spoils.

I disagree.

This is one of Barry's "shovel ready" projects to stimulate the economy through private enterprise.

Imagine the demand for hand lotion and tissue paper this will generate...

You could also choose to look at it as a way of cutting spending.

In the future (and now, for that matter) more and more city, state and government official business will be conducted online, as in filling out forms online, applying for whatever, and so on.

Giving 99% of the population access to the Internet through some sort of aid might be cheaper than keeping alot of offices open, where people have to go physically to apply for whatever.

So it might just cut down on bureacracy...

Originally Posted by Maddox

You could also choose to look at it as a way of cutting spending.

It looks to me like yet another quid pro quo between the Obama administration and corporate America - colluding to create yet another "too big to fail" corporation and further consolidating power and dependency in the hands of the state and its corporate "partners".

I think many of you consider corporatism some kind of reasonable compromise, but it's not. It's a type of fascism and stands in direct opposition to both free-market and socialist values.

Originally Posted by dblack

It looks to me like yet another quid pro quo between the Obama administration and corporate America - colluding to create yet another "too big to fail" corporation and further consolidating power and dependency in the hands of the state and its corporate "partners".

I think many of you consider corporatism some kind of reasonable compromise, but it's not. It's a type of fascism and stands in direct opposition to both free-market and socialist values.

I don´t know about that, really. Mostly because I´m not big on ideology and don´t adhere to any one principle.

I´m just saying that the more people you can get to use digitalized government services, the more you are able to cut spending.

So should I hold off on that satellite internet box for $50 a month?