Tom Evslin: Should the State of Vermont be Helping Fund Rural Telecom?
Tom Evslin writes about Why Should the State of Vermont be Helping Fund Rural Telecom?
Rural telephone companies exist largely due to wealth transfer from phone users in denser metro areas via the Universal Service Fund. The Federal government also loans money to rural telcos at below market rates.
There are about 1,100 telephone companies in the U.S.A. Due to economic distortions (USF and Federal government RUS loans) the otherwise natural process of small un-economic companies being rolled up into larger, more efficient enterprises would be growing much faster.
Your tax dollars and telephone fees are hard at work. It’s debatable whether income transfers from city slicker phone users to rural telephone owners (a VERY savvy group) makes social or economic sense. After all, mobile phone service is almost ubiquitous.
Socialism lives!