Staff Reports
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr recently delivered a knockout punch to Vice President Kamala Harris during a congressional review that highlighted her stunning ineptitude in managing the Biden administration’s ambitious $42 billion initiative aimed at expanding high-speed internet access to rural areas. If Harris were tasked with filling a kiddie pool, one might suspect she’d merely hold the hose and wait for a miracle to happen, judging by the progress, or lack thereof, seen in this initiative.
Carr pointed out that nearly three years have passed since Harris committed to this project, yet not a single person has been connected to high-speed internet. This colossal failure echoes her dismal handling of the border crisis, another hot mess with no signs of improvement. As frustrating as it is to consider, it’s almost impressive how effectively Harris manages to both promise the moon and deliver nothing but empty space.
WOW! FCC Commissioner just shredded Kamala Harris for the failure of her $42 billion broadband initiative saying it hasn't connected one person to the internet and that the administration is more focused on DEI and other political interests.
How can Kamala be trusted running the… pic.twitter.com/ofAiElQ9n6
— David J Harris Jr (@DavidJHarrisJr) September 19, 2024
It turns out the situation is even worse than anyone imagined. Carr noted that any actual infrastructure work won’t kick off until next year at the earliest, and the majority of it may not even start until 2026. It’s hard to envision a program more sluggish than what Harris has spearheaded, setting records not just for delays, but also for bureaucratic mismanagement.
The red tape created by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is playing a key role in this debacle. It’s almost as if the process was specifically designed to foster delays, with certain segments of the workforce prioritized over actual efficiency. While the previous administration put forward straightforward guidelines, this new plan is tangled in a nine-step review process that can only be described as a bureaucratic tar pit, effectively prolonging the wait for unserved and underserved Americans.
In a more pragmatic world, the money could be better spent by issuing $600 vouchers allowing rural residents to obtain Starlink satellite internet systems. With a mere $42 billion, one could quickly provide a year of high-speed internet for 21 million homes, easily surpassing the initial promise of connections. However, such a straightforward solution lacks those critical opportunities for political correctness and bureaucratic graft that our leaders seem so keen to pursue.
The reality of government involvement in these high-profile initiatives is stark: Milton Friedman once quipped that if you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years, there would be a shortage of sand. Under the current administration’s leadership, one might believe they’ve taken that advice to heart. If there’s one thing creative politicians excel at, it’s finding ways to squander taxpayer money while achieving zero tangible results.
