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- cross-posted to:
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- technology
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Benefits for the poor are always temporary
Especially when you have republicans controlling one of the lawmaking bodies.
Democrats inserted the expiration into the original bill
“It’s the only way to get it to pass.”
This one covered households making 2x the poverty level. I bet a lot of people qualified that didn’t realize it, including myself.
Originally it was just the poorer people. They lowered the discount and increased the qualifications for some reason.
We literally solved childhood poverty a while back, and then we didn’t keep it going…
PHEW! For a second I thought we wouldn’t be able to give Elon Musk an extra couple Million to lay off a bunch of Workers! Back to your Bootstraps SOCIALISTS!
Some Republican members of Congress have called the program “wasteful” and complained that most people using the discounts had broadband access before the subsidy was available. Rosenworcel’s letter today said the FCC survey found that “68 percent of ACP households stated they had inconsistent or zero connectivity prior to ACP.”
But what isn’t wasteful to them, is throwing billions to ISP lobbyists who continue to make empty promises of expanding broadband, while spending that money heavily marketing services that aren’t even available yet in people’s areas nor probably will ever be.
We’ll get it to you. Some day, your 40yr old cable or 70yr old copper line will be replaced and you’ll be connected to the 20 yr old fiber line 800 ft from your house. Then when that shit breaks we’ll repair it and double your rates to recoup the costs.
My ISP announced a $30 monthly credit if it should expire, for an indefinite amount of time (until further notice, essentially). The only condition is not letting your bill get past due at all. Kinda telling how much margin they must have had and how inflated their prices are.
If you’re in need, check out PCsForPeople, they offer subsidized unlimited 4G hotspots. They’re well suited for low-bandwidth uses and was my primary home internet for a few years. I used Wifi bridge routers to help connect ethernet / more devices / better range.
There’s also still the Lifeline program, which is a much smaller discount, but can still help.
If I had a dollar for every time Comcast told me to check if I qualify for this rebate, even after I tell them that I do not qualify, my internet cost would make sense.
This program was paying for my cell phone bill. Had a $30 plan so it was being fully covered. Now it’s just one more bill on top of all my other bills I can’t afford.
For $30 a month it was making sure I always had the ability to work or find work. Without a phone it’s impossible to get hired anywhere. It’s not like minimum wage jobs will email you about your job application nor will they want to hire an employee that they can’t contact.
This was straight up a net benefit for the economy and just like the child Tax credit it’s gone. How are Democrats not able to make policy and keep it in place…
They can’t keep it in place because they don’t control both chambers in Congress
