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Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
The Journal has long argued that government borrowing without a vote of the people is both unwise and unconstitutional. But that is borrowing backed by the "full faith and credit" of the borrower, in this case, the people of the jurisdiction involved. So, if that is what the telecoms want, we support them. But that protection is already written into the state constitution. When governments borrow for public utility infrastructure, they generally pledge as collateral only the facilities that will be built and the revenues produced by the utility involved. In these cases, that would mean the equipment needed for the Internet service and the revenues it generates. ... These communities can't wait until it will be profitable for a private company to serve them adequately. So, using the democratic process, they are asking their local governments to establish service for them. This is reminiscent of the early 20th century when small towns in this state developed their own electrical grids rather than wait for the big utilities to do so.Well said.