

FCC eyes tax on Internet service - greenyoda
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/245479-fcc-eyes-tax-on-internet-service

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rlt3
I don't see any reason why this isn't a good idea. Getting internet access to
more people can only serve to advancing America as a whole, I would like to
think.

Any reason why we should be against this?

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greenyoda
First of all, it's a regressive tax. If you charge every household the same
amount, poor people will pay a much larger fraction of their yearly income for
this tax than rich people will. You'll end up with a large portion of the
subsidy coming from households who might need to spend the extra money on
necessities.

If we as a country believe that it's really important to subsidize the
expansion of internet access, then the Congress should pass a law to do so,
and fund it out of the national budget. In a democratic country, I think this
is a much better way of doing things than allowing the FCC, a bunch of un-
elected bureaucrats, to impose a tax (which they'll call a "fee") by
administrative fiat.

Also, as a democratic country, we should be able to debate, via our elected
representatives, whether it would be wiser to spend all this money elsewhere.
For example, does it help the country more to subsidize broadband internet
access or to fund schools, or healthcare for the poor, or AIDS research? I
don't know the answer to this question, but whoever decides ought to be
required to make a good case for it and put their political reputation on the
line.

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rlt3
A great explanation. Thanks for sharing.

