Broadband Future for America Includes Payday Loans

The Beauty of “Freedom”

Payday loans represent our freedom to choose how we will stretch our budget and fill temporary holes. So long as the Internet remains free, many millions of Americans will have the freedom to choose their access portal, filter through mountains of data and use the information however they want. That is but one hallmark of a free society, yet we must fight monopoly and the narrow vision of special interests if this information resource is to remain free.

We need a National Broadband Policy

The Obama-Biden Administration and Congress have a big job in front of them if they are to guide America back to the forefront of technological greatness. Adopting a National Broadband Policy via the utilization of upcoming stimulus money will be a huge step in the right direction. Think of it as payday loans for the betterment of American business, where the repayment would be individual empowerment that leads to a more productive workforce.

Obama and Congressional leaders are calling for government support to fund universal broadband Internet access as part of a potential economic stimulus package. Providing every community in America with high-speed Internet access is essential to the economic and democratic future of the U.S., as the research and technical skills are essential in the job market and the connectivity is essential in educational and commercial circles.

National Broadband Solves Problems

Not only will a complete distribution of high-speed Internet help promote information economy jobs, it will keep our businesses competitive on the world stage and create economic opportunity via connectivity. The telecommuting options are almost endless, as are those for distance learning. In the medical field, medical information and record keeping connectivity will effectively make America’s sagging healthcare system modern. Broadband can even assist in the country’s conversion to more efficient wind, solar and bio-fuels, which will help with global climate change.

Affordable access to high-speed broadband is vital to America’s future. America is being lapped in the broadband race, and big business is threatening to become censors of what we see and hear. The public must have the freedom to choose where, when and how we get our information in this democracy, just as they should have the freedom and power to choose products like no fax payday loans when addressing short-term budget shortfalls. It’s our right to decide, not censor-ridden big business.

Business as usual kills ideas, destroys economy for all but the power elite

The private market, which includes large telephone and cable companies, has typically determined how we access broadband Internet in America. Unfortunately, monopoly has helped these companies grow fat and unresponsive. What incentive do they have for providing more resources to the public for less cost when they control the means of distribution?

Building their way into previously unserviced areas is simply too costly for their bottom line, so they do not act in the people’s best interests. Doling out tax breaks or subsidies without a clear sense of purpose or leadership achieves nothing. Obama must lead the way toward real change in America’s broadband communications infrastructure.

Here’s the Media and Democracy Coalition’s idea

The goals of broadband stimulus must be to achieve either increased facilities or lower costs for consumers. If private providers are to be eligible for public subsidies, there must be tight controls the prices charged to the public in relation to how subsidy monies are used to improve service. Grant programs, which have advantages over tax incentives, could target these areas effectively. Moreover, success of new broadband rollouts must be evaluated by how those previously undeserved fare in their access: poor, elderly, minorities, disabled and rural persons.

Making the “impossible” possible

Achieving universal broadband in America will be a tremendous endeavor, but some of the work is already underway. A number of local governments across the nation, as well as non-profits and other groups have built networks to provide quality local broadband. From Kutztown, Pennsylvania, to rural North Carolina, central Ohio to central Illinois, community networks prove that what many of the telecommunications companies consider an impossible dream is viable reality.

Don’t just provide, educate

There will be a greater return on America’s investment in high-speed Internet if users consistently adopt the technology in areas where it has been previously unavailable. Simply making it available won’t work. Education about how to use the Internet and how it can improve everyday life in very practical terms should be an essential part of school and adult literacy curriculum in this Information Age.

Promote Internet Freedom

Public contributions to broadband should be used to promote freedom of non-discriminatory access. These open networks are necessary for technical innovation, which in turn will improve America’s overall business climate. The Internet is the primary source of information distribution worldwide, and economic opportunities abound. America must remain in the vanguard if they are to remain a world power.

Obama and America’s leaders must act now before it’s too late

Broadband Internet must be completely ingrained in American business, medicine and science so that we will be prepared to make the next great technological leap forward. Secure the necessary stimulus, educate both the public and policymakers as to what can be accomplished, then leave the people with their freedom to make their country a better place. Freedom to choose, whether it be broadband access or the information deficit or payday loans for small-scale budget deficits, must remain unimpeachable.

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