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And pull themselves up by their bootstraps as usual?

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[-] PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@lemmy.ml 156 points 1 year ago

Imagine living in the 2020's in the developed world and not realizing that internet access is a basic necessity.

Then imagine being the sort of person who would deny poor people basic necessities

[-] KpntAutismus@lemmy.world 102 points 1 year ago
[-] skybreaker@lemmy.world 77 points 1 year ago

Might want to get that cough checked out. ...unless you're in America, in which case you probably couldn't afford it.

[-] TubeTalkerX@kbin.social 33 points 1 year ago

Best I can do is an aspirin I found on the train and sleep it off.

[-] obinice@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago

Sleep? What do you think this is, a spa?

Get back to work, paid sick days are just a myth perpetuated by the evil socialist europeans. Don't look it up.

[-] Kiwi@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

If you don’t come into work today you are going to put undue burden on all of your coworkers. It’s certainly not my fault for staffing to the absolute bare minimum so that there is no room for people to be sick or take days off, it’s your fault for being a lazy worker

[-] Chriswild@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Oh you're insisting you can't come in because you are sick? I'm going to need a doctor's note that will cost you a day's wages.

[-] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 44 points 1 year ago

They know full well that internet is a necessity to participate in society.

That is why they are blocking it with every fibre of their being.

To them, poor people are poor because god is angry at them. They deserve to be poor.

[-] Asafum@feddit.nl 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's not that nefarious, it's more "we're a bunch of wealthy assholes and we know the best way to make the most money without having to actually make something worth a shit is to privatize necessities and then monopolize them. You literally need to buy from me! Also, you lot don't work hard enough."

I hate these people with every fiber of my being.

[-] Syo@kbin.social 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

basic necessity

Did you misspell guaranteed revenue? They know exactly what they were doing.

[-] be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Imagine living in the 2020’s in the developed world and not realizing that internet access is a basic necessity.

Then imagine being the sort of person who would deny poor people basic necessities

Standard Republican Worldview

[-] quicksand@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

My mom works with internet people. I remember when I was a kid she was making fun of them for saying internet should be a basic human right. Nowadays, it would be hard to find someone who doesn't think that lol

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[-] Cowbee@lemm.ee 73 points 1 year ago
[-] MonsiuerPatEBrown@reddthat.com 34 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Hows about "Create local and municipal fiber to the curb to stoke competition and drive down prices" instead ?

[-] Cowbee@lemm.ee 16 points 1 year ago

Markets are extremely bad when it comes to proper allocation of essentials. Infrastructure in general should be nationalized at minimum, and heavily invested in.

[-] RedEyeFlightControl@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The local fiber provider skipped my street altogether because spectrum has a contract with the apartments, and they don't think it's worth running fiber to compete. I wish this was a joke. The providers are literally NOT competing at all. Residential homeowners are screwed because spectrum has a chokehold on the other half of the neighborhood.

[-] Asafum@feddit.nl 24 points 1 year ago

It's literally a fucking necessity so if course it's privately owned... It's so ridiculous how we treat necessities... Tell me what job you can apply to that doesn't require it to be done over the Internet?

I remember when I could walk in to a store and shake the managers hand, then things changed and I got looked at like I was crazy "just go online and apply, why are you here?"

[-] Cowbee@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago

Full agreement, way ahead of you. Instead of having a robust, publicly funded infrastructure-based necessity (internet service), it gets chopped up and sold piece-by-piece with price-gouging and local monopolies like warlords.

[-] Asafum@feddit.nl 5 points 1 year ago

Yuuup. Looking at you optimum. I have one option. :/

[-] Waluigis_Talking_Buttplug@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

My coop power company installed fiber, so my ISP is a coop. IMO I'd rather this that purely nationalized.

[-] Cowbee@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago

Co-ops are cool, but markets in general have far too many disadvantages for me to advocate for market-based Socialism over a non-market solution.

[-] frezik@midwest.social 4 points 1 year ago

Short of a complete revolution, market Socialisim is probably the most viable path out of capitalism. It doesn't have to stay there, and shouldn't, but it'll be a whole lot less messy than a revolution.

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[-] ares35@kbin.social 55 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

the sad bit is, wireline internet providers could sell $30 per month high-speed internet and still make money at that lower rate and without subsidies.

[-] yOya@lemm.ee 49 points 1 year ago

Every penny that goes to social programs to help the poor is a penny that isn't going to corporations and their billionaire donors. Of course they want to cancel it, along with social security, medicare and public libraries.

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[-] Carvex@lemmy.world 38 points 1 year ago

Always have money for war and bloodshed

[-] markr@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

And whenever they have control, more tax cuts for the rich.

[-] Iseja@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago

Damn 30$ discount. How much do you pay in the states for broadband access. I pay about 40$ each month for a 500/500 connection.

[-] admiralteal@kbin.social 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

In a city a connection like that is probably going to be in the area of $60 to $100. I pay $80 all in for a similar fiber connection.

Outside of a city you just aren't going to get it.

There are a few places that have Community ISPs where it will be substantially less expensive, but those are the exceptions and many states have actually made it illegal to operate community ISPs.

[-] casmael@startrek.website 4 points 1 year ago

Jesus Christ that all sounds terrible

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[-] Vyvanse@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago

Just got fiber in my area of the US, it’s $60 for 500/500, or $80 for 1000/1000

[-] 8bitguy@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

That goes for about $70 here, in a competitive, urban market. $50 for 300.

[-] WHYAREWEALLCAPS@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

Wow. I'm in a competitive exurb market and I'm paying $60 for 1.5 Gbps. It's $25 for 300. $40 for 600.

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[-] ares35@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

paying almost $90 now, here, for supposedly 300mbps (downstream) that barely ever gets past 60. there are people near me that pay about the same for 1mbps or less dsl (just outside of cable's territory, so dsl is all they have)

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[-] therealjcdenton@lemmy.zip 23 points 1 year ago

Wasn't there a debate awhile ago that internet is a necessity rather than a luxury?

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[-] uid0gid0@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

Just take it out of the oil and gas subsidies.

[-] donescobar@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

It’s what Republican Jesus would do, fuck the poor. We could fund Israel’s war with all that wasteful spending!

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[-] ninekeysdown@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

Fucking poor people!! Have they tried NOT being poor!? Bunch of lazy entitled poors!! /s

[-] markr@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

Both parties are the same!

[-] CherenkovBlue@iusearchlinux.fyi 10 points 1 year ago

Lot of Republican governors of states that signed a letter urging this subsidy to be renewed. Seriously, broadband subsidies for rural areas should be renewed.

[-] Codilingus@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago

Lmao, their problem with it, is that the vast majority of people using the ACP already had Internet before signing up....Which just proves how much of a necessity Internet is.

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 6 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Republican members of Congress blasted a program that gives $30 monthly broadband discounts to people with low incomes, accusing the Federal Communications Commission of being "wasteful."

The lawmakers suggested in a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel that they may try to block funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which is expected to run out of money in April 2024.

The letter questioned Rosenworcel's testimony at a recent House hearing in which she warned that 25 million households could lose Internet access if Congress doesn't renew the ACP discounts.

"At a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on November 30, 2023, you asserted—without evidence and contrary to the FCC's own data—that '25 million households' would be 'unplug[ged]…from the Internet' if Congress does not provide new funding for the ACP," the letter said.

As Congress considers the future of taxpayer broadband subsidies, we ask you to correct the hearing record and make public accurate information about the ACP."

Unfortunately, your testimony pushes "facts" about the ACP that are deeply misleading and have the potential to exacerbate the fiscal crisis without producing meaningful benefits to the American consumer.


The original article contains 546 words, the summary contains 189 words. Saved 65%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

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this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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