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Well, the Internet is part of the GOP Convention platform, I think, so let's see if it includes this. I don't think an agency can impose a tax but I also don't understand why the media doesn't talk about it more since it would hurt the middle class.
"Republicans could soon champion the protection of Internet Freedom as an official party issue, The Daily Caller has learned. Language in the final draft of the Internet freedom proposal was obtained exclusively by The Daily Caller. The language was finalized on Tuesday, a source in the Republican Party told The Daily Caller, but it awaits party approval next week at the upcoming Republican National Convention. Approval of the newly finalized draft language, however, would make the party the first of the two dominant political parties to fully and officially embrace Internet freedom. It also signals what Republicans view as important and necessary to keep the Internet open and free."
This is being proposed by the FCC, and it's fine by me. I hate to think that people in remote areas of our country were being left behind in terms of basic technology:
"Consumers already pay a fee on their landline and cellular phone bills to support the FCC's Universal Service Fund. The fund was created to ensure that everyone in the country has access to telephone service, even if they live in remote areas. Last year, the FCC overhauled a $4.5 billion portion of the Universal Service Fund and converted it into a broadband Internet subsidy, called the Connect America Fund. The new fund aims to subsidize the construction of high-speed Internet networks to the estimated 19 million Americans who currently lack access.
I hate seeing the have-nots without high tech toys too...like the free cellphones these local hookers,pimps and druggies use everyday....
What kills me is how some talk of remote rural people too stupid to vote but they need a high-speed broad band network
This lack of service to millions sure sounds alot like universal HC,everybody deserves a house,car,social justice thats got US into this great big mess and the Big Brother Government all too happy to oblige.
Paying taxes is patriotic. Nobody made it "big" without the infrastructure we've all paid for. Taxes laid the bedrock for entrepreneurship.Try moving petroleum products or other freight without the Interstates or our lock and dam system (just a couple of examples of US socialism which people don't think about/appreciate on a daily basis, yet take for granted), and I haven't even mentioned hydro-electric dams yet...
The Tea Party types believe that their movement has something to do with the "Boston Tea Party" (apparently; else they wouldn't have chosen that name?) inexplicably (and erroneously). They HAVE representatives (the original Tea Party was about taxation without representation; they weren't anti-tax) so crying about taxes just makes them sound like selfish whiners, misrepresenting a crucial point in American history, and want the protection of "nation" status yet don't want to pay for it.
Not every tax has this effect.
I find it laughable that y'all trot this chestnut out for every single tax you want to lay on the american population.
Yes. Infrastructure is important. It helps create opportunity. No intelligent person is arguing that. It's just a little bit ridiculous that you think every tax is of equal importance and that every single human bodily function needs to be regulated and taxed by the government.
More than having to pay taxes, I have a HUGE problem with how wasteful and redundant the government is. They don't care about being careful with our money. So when half of it is effectively flushed down the toilet, of course I am upset about being told to hand over more.
Wrap your head around the concept that any bureaucracy as big and faceless and unaccountable as our federal government WILL NOT be judicious and circumspect about its spending. They have a history of waste and fraud and an inability to control any of it. And all they can do is constantly put their hands out.
FCC considering tax on internet usage, email, text messages
The FCC is considering taxing internet usage, emails and text messages.
The reason..with more people using the internet rather than the phone, the universal service charge is drying up as it's based on interstate phone calls.
The proposal was put out in April of this year for comment. The FCC wants to expand broadband across the US.
The Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998 prohibits the government from taxing internet usage but the FCC says this is a "fee" and not a "tax" Gee, does that sound familiar ?
There is a link to the FCC proposal in the article.
FCC eyes tax on Internet service - The Hill's Hillicon Valley
The Federal Communications Commission is eyeing a proposal to tax broadband Internet service.
..
The FCC floated a number of ideas for reforming the fund's contribution system. In addition to the broadband fee, the commission also sought comments on taxing text messages, as well as levying a flat fee on each phone line, instead of the current system, which is based on a portion of the revenue from interstate phone calls.
..
The FCC could run into legal problems with the Internet Tax Freedom Act, a 1998 law that bans the government from taxing Internet access. But the FCC has long argued that Universal Service is a fee that the providers choose to pass on to consumers and not a tax.
Well, the Internet is part of the GOP Convention platform, I think, so let's see if it includes this. I don't think an agency can impose a tax but I also don't understand why the media doesn't talk about it more since it would hurt the middle class.
"Republicans could soon champion the protection of Internet Freedom as an official party issue, The Daily Caller has learned. Language in the final draft of the Internet freedom proposal was obtained exclusively by The Daily Caller. The language was finalized on Tuesday, a source in the Republican Party told The Daily Caller, but it awaits party approval next week at the upcoming Republican National Convention. Approval of the newly finalized draft language, however, would make the party the first of the two dominant political parties to fully and officially embrace Internet freedom. It also signals what Republicans view as important and necessary to keep the Internet open and free."
Yeah, I'm waiting for the actual platform to come out before I really tear this down, but Republicans have a history of Orwellian double-speak. "right-to-work" states are laughably insane.
This is being proposed by the FCC, and it's fine by me. I hate to think that people in remote areas of our country were being left behind in terms of basic technology:
"Consumers already pay a fee on their landline and cellular phone bills to support the FCC's Universal Service Fund. The fund was created to ensure that everyone in the country has access to telephone service, even if they live in remote areas. Last year, the FCC overhauled a $4.5 billion portion of the Universal Service Fund and converted it into a broadband Internet subsidy, called the Connect America Fund. The new fund aims to subsidize the construction of high-speed Internet networks to the estimated 19 million Americans who currently lack access.
They are not being left behind. Wireless broadband is available in most areas and is not expensive.
Verizon and AT&T have many areas covered.
The FCC is running out of money taxing phones (land/cell) and need a new revenue stream.
The FCC does not construct and run cable for internet nor do they build cell towers nor do they put satellites circling the earth.
I'm rural and in the middle of nowhere. My choices are dialup, satellite, wireless broadband.
My wireless gives me the equivalent of DSL speed.
Don't just take the FCC at their word that they want to "bring internet to everyone in the US" because it's not them that will do it. The FCC regulates and provides free SERVICE to the poor, they do not build the infrastructure.
The cell phone companies don't want to build towers where there is no demand. It seems the FCC will pay them to build them anyway.
Paying taxes is patriotic. Nobody made it "big" without the infrastructure we've all paid for. Taxes laid the bedrock for entrepreneurship.Try moving petroleum products or other freight without the Interstates or our lock and dam system (just a couple of examples of US socialism which people don't think about/appreciate on a daily basis, yet take for granted), and I haven't even mentioned hydro-electric dams yet...
The Tea Party types believe that their movement has something to do with the "Boston Tea Party" (apparently; else they wouldn't have chosen that name?) inexplicably (and erroneously). They HAVE representatives (the original Tea Party was about taxation without representation; they weren't anti-tax) so crying about taxes just makes them sound like selfish whiners, misrepresenting a crucial point in American history, and want the protection of "nation" status yet don't want to pay for it.
This is so so true!
I've always felt that the title they chose for their party reflected their ignorance and stuidity. It irks me every time that even I refer to these dumb dumbs by that name.
Well, the Internet is part of the GOP Convention platform, I think, so let's see if it includes this. I don't think an agency can impose a tax but I also don't understand why the media doesn't talk about it more since it would hurt the middle class.
"Republicans could soon champion the protection of Internet Freedom as an official party issue, The Daily Caller has learned. Language in the final draft of the Internet freedom proposal was obtained exclusively by The Daily Caller. The language was finalized on Tuesday, a source in the Republican Party told The Daily Caller, but it awaits party approval next week at the upcoming Republican National Convention. Approval of the newly finalized draft language, however, would make the party the first of the two dominant political parties to fully and officially embrace Internet freedom. It also signals what Republicans view as important and necessary to keep the Internet open and free."
Good for them. At least someone is keeping on top of this. I do not want to see a government regulated internet. That universal fee keeps growing and growing and still doesn't satisfy them.
We have had progress because of the competition like AT&T and Verizon and such.
3G, 4G is available and progress is happening pretty quick.
I'm rural and far away from big cities and I get reliable 3G and it's stable and I'd say better than the DSL I had when I lived near Austin. The government needs to keep it's fingers of regulation and red tap OUT OF THE INTERNET SPACE.
All they really want to do is collect money from users and turn around and pay for cell phones and broadband for the poor. Let them just come out and say that because they don't build anything themselves.
From your link:
“We will remove regulatory barriers that protect outdated technologies and business plans from innovation and competition, while preventing legacy regulation from interfering with new technologies such as mobile delivery of voice and video data as they become crucial components of the Internet ecosystem,” said the finalized draft.
“We will resist any effort to shift control away from the successful multi-stakeholder approach of Internet governance and toward governance by international or other intergovernmental organizations,” it said.
“We will ensure that personal data receives full constitutional protection from government overreach and that individuals retain the right to control the use of their data by third parties,” it said.
Progressive and Democratic proponents of a regulation-laden approach to the Internet have long dominated the direction of the tech policy discussion in Washington.
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FCC considering tax on internet usage, email, text messages
Gee, does that sound familiar ?
