Survival__ Structuring Prosperity for Yourself and the Nation - Charles George Smith [202]
Compared to other services, Web access is modest in cost given its tremendous leverage. "Free" (paid for and controlled by the local community/city) is not just another example of low-cost leverage but also of the guiding goal of community: create equal opportunities for engagement and enterprise.
As a large entity, towns (or groups of nearby towns) and cities may be able to bypass the existing monopolies which control the Internet in many locales.
Internet access is one "utility" (along with the FEW resources) which cannot be ceded to distant global corporations. Local control of Internet access and FEW resources is essential.
(The benefit of local control of local resources, assets and community is that those without Internet access--hopefully few if the community provides it--can just walk into meetings and participate via the real world.)
The usual arguments in favor of the status quo--that is, State and global Power Elites' control of all key utilities, assets and sources of financial capital-- rest on variations of this financial case: "costs are lower for global corporations due to their large scale, and we will all benefit from lower costs."
True, until they're no longer low--monopolies and cartels sole reason for existence is to raise prices without losing customers--or available at any price.
As noted above, control has a value which cannot be completely reduced to financial metrics. Global capital could care less if the people in your community have Internet, food, water or energy; this is the fundamental reason why control of these resources and assets must be developed locally--even if it "costs more."
Once again the Chinese proverb encapsulates this truth exactly: When you're thirsty, it's too late to dig a well.
Local communities have the same Elites as everywhere else, Elites which will fight to protect their monopoly (on trash service, cable TV, education, etc.) or fiefdom, and the only way to avoid the exploitation of monopoly and fiefdom is competition in a transparent market.
This is true of all markets. Recall that profits are highest when the risks of competing have been removed via monopoly, cartels and State fiefdoms, and insider/Elite fraud, looting, gaming the system, embezzlement, price-fixing, etc., are cloaked, obscured and hidden. Thus the two key demands of engaged citizenry should be transparency and competition in transparent markets. These are the only mechanisms which counteract Capital and Elite's tendency to gather ever greater concentrations of power.
The goal of community action--county, city, town, neighborhood--should be to create equal opportunities for engagement and enterprise.
As the State devolves and implodes financially, then the unsustainable "rights" to healthcare, housing and other entitlements will vanish. The local government will be better served by focusing on leveraging opportunities for engagement and enterprise rather than attempting to redistribute dwindling tax revenues.
One example is providing limited Internet access (via wireless hotspots, computers in the library, etc.) to residents. Compared to healthcare, housing, etc. the cost of Internet access is extremely modest, and could be paid for with a small local fee collected for that express purpose.
This goal can also be expressed by the old saying, The Lord helps those who help themselves. The goal is creating equal opportunities for engagement and enterprise, not equal entitlements. Thus a community could regain control of abandoned properties as outlined above and then lease the open parcels to residents for gardens. Unused plots would revert to the community, but those willing to work the land could build a small source of income from these community-owned, individually worked parcels.
The same mechanism could be used to lease out reclaimed commercial space