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FCC Rural Phone Subsidies Reach As High As $3,000 Per Line
jfruh writes "The FCC's Universal Service Fund has a noble goal: using a small fee on all U.S. landlines to subsidize universal phone coverage throughout the country. But a recent report reveals that this early 20th centuryy program's design is wildly at odds with 21st century realities: Its main effect now is that poor people living in urban areas are subsidizing rich people living in the country. The FCC says that it's already enacted reforms to combat some of the worst abuses in the report — like subsidies to rural areas that add up to $24,000 per line — but even the $3,000 per line cap now in place seems absurd."
It depends on what they are including in that cost and how they are amortizing it. For instance setting up a local relay station for a small town including buying land, building the structure, outfitting it with equipment, etc, can represent a significant one time cost.
"That's not unique to phones. It also applies to highways, minor airports, housing tax incentives, and a number of other "American Dream" elements that really have nothing to do with having a successful society."
So it's not socialism? Damn!
Its main effect now is that poor people living in urban areas are subsidizing rich people living in the country.
Uhhh, I grew up way out in farm country in Ohio. I have lived in five different major metro areas. The people in the country are not rich. What kind of bullshit psy-ops lobby-funded advertising is this, and why is it being parroted blindly here? Let's just do a quick bullshit check. One web search, second hit, talks about a study done in Oregon:
In 2011, the (per capita personal income) in non-metro counties was $31,383 and in the metro counties it was $39,267; a difference of $7,884 (25 percent). The difference was due primarily to the difference in earnings from work.
Obviously that's just one data point, feel free to do more comprehensive research yourself. I'll tell you from personal experience; people in the country make less money on average than people in the city. This report is some assholes like the Koch brothers, a lobby called "Alliance for Generational Equity," trying to create infighting so they can drown the government in the bathtub. Let's not start being their lickspittle mouthpieces, parroting their easily debunked lies.
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Land line is most certainly required in rural areas if for nothing else than emergency services. When you are 20 minutes to an hour away from a medical facility you don't want to run into a situation where you can't get a cell signal or the cell service is down. I would wager 95% of rural residents pay for a copper wire even if they don't use it so they have it in an emergency. At least all the ones I know do.
OK, you can keep your broadband. Us country folk will keep all the lumber, minerals, and produce.
Yeah yeah, and we'll keep all the money, finished goods, and medicine(or at least the intellectual backing thereof). Or... it could be we live in a complex interconnected society, and every discussion of fairness doesn't need to slide into "well our subculture is better than yours".
Anybody paying for phone service pays for this subsidy via the USF. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Service_Fund
It's also worth noting that because of the way that the poverty level is calculated, people that are in urban areas don't qualify when they would be pretty well off in more rural areas, if they were making the same amount of money. Which makes subsidies to the poor at the federal level disproportionately favor the freeloading states over the states that actually contribute to the pot of money being used to provide the subsidies.