FCC proposing monthly broadband subsidies for low-income households

groze said:

Lady Fitzgerald said:

Then again, there are even more of those who will never rise above poverty because they don't need to as long they can have everything handed to them. What people need are a hand up, not handouts. If they need the internet for job searches, etc., they can go to the library or use facilities at employment offices. All this FCC proposal amounts to is just another handout removing even more incentive to go out and better themselves.

It's like the old saying: Give a man a fish, he will be fed for one day. Teach a man to fish, he will feed himself for life.

That really the wrong way to go about it. My senior mother went through a government training program and never got hired anywhere. Teaching a person to fish doesn't also work if no fish will bite. Remember, there are disabled people that can't work. When you get old, most people get health problems.

I discovered with my own purchases, the food itself is not the culprit. It is actually the cost of products like toilet paper, paper towels, spoons, etc.. It the supplies that cost a lot. We need to reduce the cost of Groceries and supplies that would help tremendously. Government doesn't help with supplies in the U.S.

The majority of people on the dole aren't handicapped. And many of those who are handicapped could do something.

whs said:

Brink said:

On the flip side, it could be the step your fellow low income man may need to help themselves out of poverty.

If it can help, then it'll be worth it. Think about the resources the Internet can bring.

It's a good thought. I doubt though that it pans out that way. Those people from the taker division don't want to make any own effort. And why should they.

Exactly!

Debbie Downer today?

Brink said:

Debbie Downer today?

If I had posted something like that, I might have gotten a violation.

I have a degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Social Work. How many homeless and welfare recipients have you known or come into contact with?

Lady Fitzgerald said:

The example was allegorical.

I am aware of the reference.
Off the top of my head, I couldn't tell you who originally stated it. :)

Poor people overwhelmingly need to access government services, more than any other group.

I assume that the US has gone down (or is going down) the same path as Australia.
Here, successive Governments have sacked 1000s of public servants, closed offices and shifted access to government services to the Internet.

As a result, almost everyone needs the Internet to be able to interact with the Government (e.g. lodge tax returns, apply for pensions, apply for licenses, request documents, etc.).

If anything goes wrong (or you fall victim to stupid design errors) it takes days to fix the problem, as there aren't enough workers to deal with the issues.

Brink said:

Debbie Downer today?

Many people that are taking government (tax payer) hand outs do it because they can not because they need to.
My income level qualifies me for food stamps and Obama phones and all kinds of other things. I don't take any of them.
I still find a little money at the end of the month to donate to the Salvation Army. Not much mind you just what I can afford.

If I pinch and squeeze I can make it and still have a little left over to play with computers and a little J.D.
I see healthy young people using food stamps and drive a car that cost almost as much as my house. Wearing leather coats and gold that cost enough to feed me and my cat for many months.

I have no problem helping the needy but I do have a problem giving things to the greedy.

I know now and have known for years public employees that get paid while they are at home sleeping or at a bar because their buddy at work clocked them in and out. They would take turns doing this.
I know a fireman that took a motorcycle ride across country while he was at work. His time clock said he was at work so the pay checks kept coming.
I turned down a government job a long time ago to manage (Top Dog) a motor pool of several city vehicles. When I refused to change political parties they told me they could not have a registered xxxxx working for the city. I would have to register as OOOO to get the job.
If I would of changed parties I would of got the job and I would be sitting high on the hog now with one huge retirement pay check every month. I don't regret my choice. I still don't like being blackmailed.

Government substitutes is a way of buying votes. The political part that has a better record of handing out government check to those to lazy to work is the party the receivers of these checks vote for.
I will live on what I have earned and deserve. I always have.

I pay $36 a month for uncapped Verizon DSL at 3mbps. Comcast charges $45-49 a month for cable internet capped at 250GB/month at the same speed, and even more if you do not bundle it with cable TV. A $9.25 a month subsidy would only help me until VZ raises their rates again like they do every 15-18 months.