north metro

Why do all taxpayers have to pay for Gov't sponsored internet access ? There's many ways I can buy internet access and I don't want my neighbor helping to pay taxes for my toys. Private enterprise will deliver the service far more competetively. Even small towns in rural MN have great access. We have bought both Hughes & Wild Blue Dish Internet and that service works great as well. Liberals spending other peoples money !

First off, the "stimulus" bill should not be funding local pork projects like this but we all know that the stimulus bill was nothing but a way to expand government and payback some lobbyists. Secondly, the government shouldn't be concerned with providing internet access to businesses or private individuals. Anoka County already has one of the highest percentages of citizens with high speed internet in the nation. There is no lack of high speed internet providers and pricing is affordable for anyone that wants it. If government wants to put in a high speed fiber network for government buildings then that is great...... it shouldn't be paid for by stimulus money but it is a legitimate project that local government entities could undertake. We have to divorce ourselves of the notion that government needs to provide every service for every citizen. The thing we really need to do is start starving the beast, we need to reduce the flow of revenue to all our government entities and let them shrink until they have just enough funds to provide essential services. The more money we give them the more pork projects they will create.

in Anoka County there are numerous internet providers...... Comcast, US Cable, Qwest, Wild Blue Satellite, Hughes Net Satellite, SkyWay Satellite, ATT Wireless, Sprint Wireless, and Verizon Wireless just to name a few. There certainly is no lack of service providers or competition in Anoka County. If someone wants high speed internet they can get it already.

“West noted that some county residents have said they are unhappy that, at first, government offices will be the only beneficiaries of the upgrade….” The citizens have the right to be mad. First, the county spent $70,000 of citizens’ money on a survey asking us if we wanted cheaper and faster interenet service. Second, the survey’s positive results were used to as propaganda to justify the $2,000,000 investment of citizens’ money on the project. Finally, we find out that only the government buildings are being connected and the county “…hope[s] that privately held Internet companies will tap into the system.” At least county officials could have bought me dinner before they did that to me, but, somehow, I still keep buying them dinner. I wonder if the county will divulge the long term costs? Not likely.

Ahyuck ahyuck I gots me some internets from the Wallmarts. Ahyuck ahyuck works real good cept on Tuesdays and Thurdays.