So I had been wondering why CEMC hasn’t rolled out their own broadband Internet.\u00a0 They’ve got decades of experience with electricity.\u00a0 They are a natural choice if Bellsouth and Charter aren’t going to provide Internet to everyone.\u00a0 So I did some Googling…<\/p>\n
January 2008:<\/p>\n
“But there is reason to be optimistic about the possibilities.\u00a0 Our legislators have obviously already seen the wisdom of allowing municipal electric systems to offer these services to their urban customers, so why wouldn’t it be appropriate for electric cooperatives to offer these same services to our rural members?” – Carl Wilson Jr., CEMC General Manager<\/p>\n
June 2008:<\/p>\n
“I guess we underestimated the opposition, which does not want any competition from electric cooperatives in their business.” – Carl Wilson Jr., CEMC General Manager<\/p>\n
So what happened in those 6 months?\u00a0 AT&T, Charter, and other big providers banded together and got our state government to pass the “Competitive Cable and Video Services Act”, which throws huge roadblocks into a municipality or electric utility providing internet service to their customers.<\/p>\n
So were our elected state officials doing this because, deep in their heart, they thought it was good for the public?\u00a0\u00a0 Let’s see how much money AT&T and Comcast have donated to our legislators over the years….<\/p>\n
YEAR\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 AT&T\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 COMCAST\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 TOTAL\n---------------------------------------\n2004\u00a0\u00a0 $11,700\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $3,234\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $14,934\n2006\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $1,500\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $500\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $2,000\n2008\u00a0 $139,782\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $61,000\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $200,782\n2010\u00a0\u00a0 $56,450\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $47,200\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $103,650<\/pre>\nSo they go from donating a grand total of $2,000 in the 2006 election cycle, to $200,000 in the 2008 election cycle.<\/p>\n
We have the best politicians money can buy.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the average voter isn’t the one with the money.<\/p>\n
References:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.cemc.org\/general\/tnmag\/January2008mag.pdf
\nhttp:\/\/www.cemc.org\/general\/tnmag\/June%202008.pdf
\nhttp:\/\/www.followthemoney.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So I had been wondering why CEMC hasn’t rolled out their own broadband Internet.\u00a0 They’ve got decades of experience with electricity.\u00a0 They are a natural choice if Bellsouth and Charter aren’t going to provide Internet to everyone.\u00a0 So I did … Continue reading