President Obama,
Welcome to Chattanooga, one of hundreds of cities throughout this
great nation struggling to succeed in spite of your foolish policies
that limit job creation, stifle economic growth and suffocate the
entrepreneurial spirit.
Forgive us if you are not greeted with the same level of Southern
hospitality that our area usually bestows on its distinguished guests.
You see, we understand you are in town to share your umpteenth different
job creation plan during your time in office. If it works as well as
your other job creation programs, then thanks, but no thanks. We’d
prefer you keep it to yourself.
That’s because your jobs creation plans so far have included a
ridiculous government spending spree and punitive tax increase on job
creators that were passed, as well as a minimum wage increase that,
thankfully, was not. Economists — and regular folks with a basic
understanding of math — understand that these are three of the most
damaging policies imaginable when a country is mired in unemployment and
starving for job growth.
Even though 64 percent of Chattanooga respondents said they would
rather you hadn’t chosen to visit our fair city, according to a survey
on the Times Free Press website, it’s probably good that you’re here. It
will give you an opportunity to see the failure of your most
comprehensive jobs plan to date, the disastrous stimulus scheme, up
close and personal.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 helped fund the
Gig to Nowhere project, a $552 million socialist-style experiment in
government-owned Internet, cable and phone services orchestrated by EPB —
Chattanooga’s government-owned electric monopoly.
• • •
The Gig to Nowhere is a Smart Grid, a high tech local electricity
infrastructure intended to improve energy efficiency and reduce power
outages. After lobbying for, and receiving, $111.6 million in stimulus
money from your administration, EPB decided to build a souped-up version
of the Smart Grid with fiber optics rather than more cost-effective
wireless technology. This decision was supposed to allow EPB to provide
the fastest Internet service in the Western Hemisphere, a
gigabit-per-second Internet speed that would send tech companies and web
entrepreneurs stampeding to Chattanooga in droves.
In reality, though, the gig, like most of the projects funded by your stimulus plan, has been an absolute bust.
While the Smart Grid will cost taxpayers and local electric customers
well over a half-billion dollars when all is said and done, there has
been little improvement in the quality of EPB’s electric service. Worse,
despite being heavily subsidized, EPB’s government-owned Internet,
cable and telephone outfit that competes head-to-head against private
companies like AT&T and Comcast is barely staying afloat, often
relying on loans from electric service reserve funds to afford its
business expenses.
Further, there has been no credible evidence to suggest that EPB can
even provide a gig of service consistently and reliably. Any companies
hoping to utilize the Gig to Nowhere are quoted monthly billing costs
that make the service unfeasible. As a result, Chattanooga has remained a
relative ghost town for technological innovation. Almost no economic
development whatsoever has resulted from the gig.
• • •
What the gig has brought, however, is that shocking price tag.
Because of your unwillingness to balance the budget, Mr. President, the
$111.6 million federal handout to subsidize the Gig to Nowhere will
actually cost federal taxpayers $158.2 million, due to interest. Once
EPB received the stimulus infusion to fund the pork project, the
electric monopoly took out a $219.8 bond that will balloon to $391.3
million by the time Chattanoogans are done paying it off.
The bond’s first payment comes due this fall and there remain
significant questions about how EPB can manage to pay the debt without
hiking electric rates on EPB customers.
Building a Smart Grid to get into a telecom sector already
well-served by private companies was a bad idea from the start. But
getting government involved in places it doesn’t belong is a hallmark of
your administration. As a result, you and your policymakers were happy
to fund the Gig to Nowhere.
You claimed that the Smart Grid would create jobs for Chattanooga.
But in reality, all it did was push America deeper in debt and lure a
local government agency into making a terrible financial decision that
will weigh on Chattanoogans like a millstone for decades to come.
So excuse us, Mr. President, for our lack of enthusiasm for your new
jobs program. Here in Chattanooga we’re still reeling from your old one.
— The Free Press
http://tinyurl.com/n3n67wa
No comments:
Post a Comment