Starlink operator SpaceX is fighting Virginia’s plan to deploy fiber Internet service to residents, claiming that federal grant money should be given to Starlink instead. SpaceX is already in line to win over $3 million in grant money in the state but is seeking $60 million.
Starlink is poised to benefit from the Trump administration rewriting rules for the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program. While the Biden administration decided that states should prioritize fiber in order to build more future-proof networks, the Trump administration ordered states to revise their plans with a “tech-neutral approach” and lower the average cost of serving each location.
Fascism is fake capitalism, because the market is not deciding anything, government bureaucrats are.
Capitalism is when the market decides who “wins” and “loses” in the race for more money.
But when you add in government overreach and regulatory capture, it loses all semblance of capitalism.
Fascism is when capitalists control the government.
And then they use that government to pick winners and losers rather than letting the market decide. And at that point, the economic system is no longer capitalism.
When government is capable of picking those winners and losers, government service becomes more attractive to capitalists than running an actual business.
Ever notice that, for all their bluster, it’s usually the big business types in government that push regulations in the name of protecting one thing or another? Kids, environment, jobs, etc…
Because it’s not really about helping those kids, or protecting the planet, or anything else. It’s about continuing the size and scope of government to make it harder for new competitors to enter the market and provide a service cheaper than the established players can.
Did you know that in many states in the US, if you have a kid, but don’t have a grid power connection to your local power provider, that you can be charged with child endangerment? Even if you have off-grid electrical power.
Your local power provider loves that. It’s basically illegal to not have their service, so they can charge you basically whatever they want. “What about the public service utility commissions?” What about them? They’re all corrupt AF, and worse, typically run by unelected bureaucrats.
Then, add in the localities where the the utility commissions are so corrupt that they allow those same power companies to charge you a fee if you do add your own power generation. Because remember, you still have to have their service. So if you add, say, solar panels, they levy additional fees on you to make up for lost revenue.
And we can’t even vote the fuckers out, because it’s mostly unelected bureaucrats, and even the few elected officials that exist are just completely bought and paid for by the very same utility company they’re supposed to regulate.