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Snakeadelic · 12-23-2016, 09:16 AM

I do very little deliberate reading about politics, governmental policy, etc. because such things tend to jackhammer my panic triggers...and one thing above all else is scaring the hell outta me right now.

Apparently, the Republican members of the FCC--an agency that once tried to censor mature content from SATELLITE providers, meaning they tried to expand their single-nation authority into GODDAMN OUTER SPACE--cannot wait for Inauguration Day. They appear to believe they have been promised the power to end net neutrality by handing all Internet-related services and infrastructure over to the ownership and management of telecommunications companies. This seems to me to be the precise reason the concept of 'net neutrality' was defined to begin with--to stop this exact thing from happening.

If what I've read is accurate, I give the current state of Internet access until Tax Day 2017 to collapse. Who will suffer most? It sure won't be streaming providers, though I would be totally unsurprised to find pay-per-view the new standard for EVERYTHING, including with commercials. Facebook? Sell your stock soon, because the end of net neutrality will give PHONE COMPANIES the right to charge you access to Facebook, regardless of what Facebook wants or how much money they throw at Washington, DC.

The ones who will suffer are the people looking for their first job fresh out of (or still in) high school. Almost no business exists any more without a website, and very few places handle paper job applications any more. What's going to happen to the under-educated masses when they have to find a way to cough up, say, $10 every time they want to access a job application or resume website? What about those who apply for welfare programs that require them to submit a certain number of applications per week to receive assistance? How many of them will not be able to afford to apply for jobs? And where will they go? Libraries and public schools won't be getting any price breaks in a nation without net neutrality; they can't even get funding for arts programs or vocational training any more.

Already-overloaded state agencies will probably also get no breaks. I will not be at all surprised if, by next summer, I have to come up with a cash-only usage fee every time I take my EBT card to the store to use my SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) to buy groceries (I survive on the luxurious amount of $172 a month for food). Since I'm on disability and have less than $400 a month cash to live on after the rent and utility portions I am required by Federal law to pay, I'm not going to be able to afford copays on every prescription, copays for every medical visit, and copays to buy food!

It's been a long time since I so hoped to be wrong.

12-23-2016, 09:16 AM	#1
Snakeadelic Banned Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 660	The end is nigh? I do very little deliberate reading about politics, governmental policy, etc. because such things tend to jackhammer my panic triggers...and one thing above all else is scaring the hell outta me right now. Apparently, the Republican members of the FCC--an agency that once tried to censor mature content from SATELLITE providers, meaning they tried to expand their single-nation authority into GODDAMN OUTER SPACE--cannot wait for Inauguration Day. They appear to believe they have been promised the power to end net neutrality by handing all Internet-related services and infrastructure over to the ownership and management of telecommunications companies. This seems to me to be the precise reason the concept of 'net neutrality' was defined to begin with--to stop this exact thing from happening. If what I've read is accurate, I give the current state of Internet access until Tax Day 2017 to collapse. Who will suffer most? It sure won't be streaming providers, though I would be totally unsurprised to find pay-per-view the new standard for EVERYTHING, including with commercials. Facebook? Sell your stock soon, because the end of net neutrality will give PHONE COMPANIES the right to charge you access to Facebook, regardless of what Facebook wants or how much money they throw at Washington, DC. The ones who will suffer are the people looking for their first job fresh out of (or still in) high school. Almost no business exists any more without a website, and very few places handle paper job applications any more. What's going to happen to the under-educated masses when they have to find a way to cough up, say, $10 every time they want to access a job application or resume website? What about those who apply for welfare programs that require them to submit a certain number of applications per week to receive assistance? How many of them will not be able to afford to apply for jobs? And where will they go? Libraries and public schools won't be getting any price breaks in a nation without net neutrality; they can't even get funding for arts programs or vocational training any more. Already-overloaded state agencies will probably also get no breaks. I will not be at all surprised if, by next summer, I have to come up with a cash-only usage fee every time I take my EBT card to the store to use my SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) to buy groceries (I survive on the luxurious amount of $172 a month for food). Since I'm on disability and have less than $400 a month cash to live on after the rent and utility portions I am required by Federal law to pay, I'm not going to be able to afford copays on every prescription, copays for every medical visit, and copays to buy food! It's been a long time since I so hoped to be wrong.