Yet again, my Wallet Rule:
“You go out on Friday night with your wallet. You go out the following Friday night with my wallet. On which Friday night are you going to have more fun?
“Obviously you will have more fun with my wallet – because at the end of the evening you care what your wallet looks like. My wallet? You don’t care quite so much.
“Well, government is always using other peoples’ wallets. And the Friday night never, ever ends.
The federal government spent in 2023 – $6.2 trillion. And violated the Wallet Rule with every last cent of it.
To put the monstrous federal government spending in perspective? The entire US economy in 2023 – was $27.36 trillion.
The Feds spent 22.66% of EVERYTHING every man, woman and child combined made last year.
Oh: And it added $1.7 trillion to the total federal debt – to do it.
When you’re this far over your spending skis? There are trillions of reasons why.
Here’s one: If you’re, say, buying a car for someone? It doesn’t have to be a Rolls Royce. A Chevy will get them to and from work right nicely.
Well, government insists on being in the Internet connection welfare business.
Despite the fact that the government is AWFUL at it.
Kamala ‘Broadband Czar’ Update: Still Zero People Connected by $42+ Bil Gov Program
Despite the fact that 98+% of Americans have had high speed connections to the Internet – since 2015.
And the government – is buying Rolls Royce connections for pretty much everyone. And not only is their connection choice the most expensive option – it is the least practical option:
“East Texas Council of Governments leaders are moving ahead with a multi-year plan to expand broadband internet access throughout the region.…
“The agency’s leaders are seeking almost $168.5 million in funding to install new fiber-optic internet infrastructure in counties throughout the region….”
Fiber-optic is ridiculously expensive – and difficult – to install:
“The process of laying fiber optic cables requires meticulous handling, mainly when cables are buried underground. Care must be taken during cable pulling to avoid sharp bends that could damage the fiber, especially with loose tube cables….
“Before any physical work begins, it’s crucial to design the network layout. This stage involves determining where the fiber optic cable will enter the system, calculating the cable’s minimum bend radius to avoid damage, and planning the path of the cable pull.
“Using the right pulling equipment is essential to manage the delicate nature of fiber cables.
“The trenching process for laying underground cable involves excavating a path for the conduit to house the fiber cable. Techniques vary based on soil type [1] and the depth required, with particular attention to avoid disturbing existing underground utilities like the power cable.
“Conduits are laid to protect the fiber optic cables after trenching. Conduits must be robust enough to protect the cables from environmental factors and potential physical damage.”
You can read on and on about what a giant pain in the posterior fiber-optic is.
And here’s where it gets REALLY stupid.
You have to dig trenches and lay fiber cable – to pretty much everyone’s front door to connect them.
And in rural areas – like the fifteen east Texas counties about to embark on this idiocy? This is the ABSOLUTE STUPIDEST way to connect these people.
Marion County is one of the east Texas counties included in this fiber plan. The 2020 census has its population – at 9,725 people. The county is 380.9 square miles in area.
That is 25.5 people – per square mile. There is NO ONE living there, statistically speaking.
The state of Texas is larger than France – with 268,597 square miles. And many tens of thousands of its square miles consist of…absolutely nothing.
And its population per – is 105.2 people. Or more than four times that of Marion County.
And let’s say the $168.5 million is being spent equally amongst the fifteen counties. That means $11.23 million will be spent digging up Marion County. To connect…pretty much no one at all.
And then someone will have to pay their monthly connection bills. Is that going to be We the Taxpayers – yet again?
There are some far-less-idiotic ways to connect rural America.
In fact, as mentioned, America already connected everyone – way back in 2015.
You’re all familiar with cellular phone service, yes? The Barack Obama Administration certainly was – when it was bragging about it connecting everyone to the Internet a decade ago:
“President Obama…set the ambitious goal of providing 4G mobile broadband to at least 98 percent of Americans….
“President Obama announced that we’ve reached our major broadband connectivity goal — 98 percent of Americans nationwide are now connected to high-speed wireless Internet, surpassing any point in history….”
And that was 4G. We’re now implementing 5G. Which is orders-of-magnitude faster than the 4G that connected 98+% of Americans a decade ago.
In 2023, the average cellular connection was 27.06 Mbps. Which is plenty fast for everything nigh everyone does on the Internet.
And everyone in east Texas already has access to the networks. Because they’ve had access to the networks for a decade-plus.
No $168.5 million of our money need be wasted – digging trenches and laying cables.
Except it’s government.
So of course the money will be wasted.
Because that’s what government does.