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Ajit Pai works to cap funding for rural and poor people, gets GOP backing
The Federal Communications Commission has preliminarily voted to cap spending on the FCC's Universal Service programs, which deploy broadband to poor people and to rural and other underserved areas.
[...] Pai's plan, as we previously reported, would set a combined cap of $11.4 billion on the four programs that make up the Universal Service Fund (USF).
Pai's proposal says that capping the fund at this level "will strike the appropriate balance between ensuring adequate funding for the Universal Service programs while minimizing the financial burden on ratepayers and providing predictability for program participants." All four Universal Service programs are paid for by Americans through fees on their phone bills.
The proposed cap of $11.4 billion is the same as the sum of the four programs' budgets for 2018 and would be indexed to keep pace with inflation under Pai's proposal. The new cap wouldn't have an immediate impact on actual spending, because it's higher than current spending. The FCC projects that the USF's total disbursements will be $10.2 billion in 2019 and remain below $10.5 billion annually through 2023.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 11 2019, @02:32AM (9 children)
Well, yes of course if people don't vote for party they won't win, but I still think it is way over-simplifying things to say it is the voters' fault.
You have only ever had a two party system in more than 200 years of elections. In all that time a third party has never arisen (except as far as I can see when the southern Democrats were in the process of turning into Republicans) which happens all the time in other countries.
You had 4 parties on the ballot in 2016 (which is not really true, you actually had 4 presidential candidates) but that is setting a very low bar anyway.
The UK is a much smaller country than the US and they also have first past the post elections, but they managed to elect 8 parties to parliament the last time.
I just don't think elections are terribly important in your system of government.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday June 11 2019, @02:56AM (8 children)
Heh, the UK? Hardly a good example. Having more parties only brings *entangled alliances*
I afraid it is that simple. People make their own choices. The blame passing does not absolve them of responsibility... If they refuse to accept it, all is lost.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 11 2019, @03:25AM (7 children)
I don't know what that means.
More parties means that they all have to listen to their constituent, because if they don't they disappear.
It's only been 240 - odd years I'm sure it will happen soon. :-)
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday June 11 2019, @03:56PM (6 children)
Don't you pay attention to the weird parliamentary coalitions that form all over Europe when nobody has a clear majority? Those alliances are extremely entangled, and will change at the drop of a hat, all ideals are compromised or lost completely. The UK is in total chaos right now. The EU is not much better off. Nobody has proven any advantage over the American system. Majority rule itself needs a closer examination when looking at the kinds of people that win the vote.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 11 2019, @08:39PM (5 children)
Yup, and I live in a country under coalition government, and have done for 20 years or more. It's way better than what we had before, when a party with 38% of the vote could govern alone, and the executive, comprised of about 15 people actually ran the joint.
Due to the ineptitude of the Conservatives, who did have a parliamentary majority, then pissed it away because of hubris.
Brexit has nothing to do with anything other than a few "born to rule" elites who want to go back to 1952.
European coalitions (with the exception of Italy which is corrupt) are stable and work really well.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday June 11 2019, @09:57PM (4 children)
Really? Only Italy is corrupt? I find that difficult to believe...
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 11 2019, @10:29PM (3 children)
Well, the US is too.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday June 11 2019, @10:57PM (2 children)
:-) Well, I was kinda talking about the Continent, but sure, the Americans have to be pretty corrupt also to keep reelecting the same old politicos to a 30 or 40 year career for some of that "bacon", juicy contracts, favored treatment, etc. The tradition goes back to the very beginnings of majority rule, way before the US ever existed, all the way back to Plato, probably way before him too...
Going back to your old comment:
Well, yes of course if people don't vote for party they* won't win... [did you mean "that"?]
I should point out that any party can win with sufficient votes. The choice is strictly up to the voter. There will be no improvement until the voters acknowledge their responsibility for their choices. This is absolutely critical if there is to be any progress against political corruption in a representative government.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 11 2019, @11:58PM (1 child)
Which brings us full circle.
You're arguing that any party can win in the US.
I am arguing that any party can win in the US, as long as it is the Republicans or the Democrats. That is because the system you have is set up to make sure that only those two outcomes happen.
If any party could win, surely another party would have won at least one of your many, many elections since 1869?
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday June 12 2019, @12:17AM
Yes, I've always said that any party can win. All they need are votes. 95% of the voters choose republican and democrat. That is the only setup that keeps them in power.
Now, if you are saying that the count is fraudulent, I cannot dispute that. But the voters have to demand better transparency to verify the count. No matter where you go with this it still boils down to them.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..