Well, at least that's what Michael Katz, former FCC economist says.
"Other people don't like to say bad things about rural areas," Katz began. "So I will."
The stimulus package includes $7.2 billion to expand broadband Internet access into "underserved" and rural areas. Katz listed ways that the $7.2 billion could be put to better use, including an effort to combat infant deaths. But he also spoke of rural places as environmentally hostile, energy inefficient and even weak in innovation, simply because rural people are spread out across the landscape.
"The notion that we should be helping people who live in rural areas avoid the costs that they impose on society … is misguided," Katz went on, "from an efficiency point of view and an equity one."
-NPR
The cost may be high, but in order for us to participate in the global market we need broadband Internet access. Dial up just won't cut it. Our jobs are vanishing quicker than you can say lickety-split and some enterprising souls are seeking opportunities using the Internet. If you find a call center job that you can do from home but you have only dial up access you are not going to get that job. What about farmers, innovation and acccessing markets outside of their geographical area may be the keys they need to survive this economic downturn. If they survive, odds are better that we will all survive. If our area farmers fail, what will happen? I don't want to know.
More data on farmers with Internet is available here.
For more opinion on Michael Katz's comments click here.
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