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Menu: Home Grumblings UP A Nation of Cowards TIA is a PIA Used car kiddies State Religion Bomb Building Hints Australian bigots Critics sued E-book woes Government murderers Enviro-WHAT? All The News Minimum Wage Scam Shaving sucks Bad coffee sucks Dreams that Die My Evil Twin Corporate Puppet Corporate News Whores Mass Delusions Invisible People Employment Myth Diets suck Lewinsky Chewinsky Road bikes? Where? E-RATE follies Lying politician Links Contact Info My Resume My Public Key EMAIL Eric BadTux Portal[et]	The E-RATE and the non-existent "Gore Tax" Three years ago a Republican Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Local phone companies gave up the subsidies they'd been recieving from the long distance phone companies in exchange for being allowed to offer long distance services. In exchange, the long distance phone companies agreed to subsidize school and library Internet access the way they've been subsidizing local phone rates for years. The "Universal Access Fee" is nothing new. At one time in the mid 1980's 3/4ths of the cost of a long distance phone call went into the "Universal Access Fund". Does this mean we should call it the "Reagan Tax" rather than the "Gore Tax"? Three years after the long distance companies struck their deal schools are still waiting for their subsidized rates and the "Universal Access Fee" money is still stuck in limbo. The phone companies have raised the spectre of the "Gore Tax" (Al Gore didn't have anything to do with it) to get out of the deal they made and hold on to money that should go to schools. The same Republicans who voted for the Telecommunications Act are now posturing about the "Gore Tax" that they themselves passed. In the meantime, schools don't know what to do. They've turned in their e-rate grant applications, but will they get money? They don't know. Until they know, they can't even apply for other Internet grants. For three years schools have been stuck in limbo, unable to properly budget or plan for Internet access. Now I read that the FCC has derailed the "e-rate" program while it is "further studied". We need to quit studying "e-rate" and make a decision -- are we going to hold the long distance companies to the deal they made? Yes or no? Either way, let's quit holding our children hostage to political posturing in Washington. The Truth: San Jose Mercury News. Only 14% of classrooms nationwide are wired and right now it's mostly affluent districts who have Internet access. Example idiotic Republican rantings: Phyllis Schaffley insists that the majority of schools already have Internet access (even though only 14% of them have their classrooms wired for it?!) and that the e-rate is a "Gore tax" even though Al Gore didn't vote for it or advocate it -- conservative Republican congressmen voted to extend the Universal Access Fund as part of their deal with the Baby Bells and long distance companies, a deal that the long distance companies are now trying to get out of. Ain't that cute? How much money did the phone companies pay Phyllis anyhow? Whoops, I forgot, Phyllis doesn't need to accept bribes from the Baby Bells, she gets her money by creating "scare stories" like this and scaring people into donating money to her non-profit "foundation" (which, of course, pays for her luxurious house and car and etc., what a scam!). Who is being hurt: Stockton, CA Public Schools. They want to wire their buildings for Internet access. Why, that's terrible! Those... those... cads! Maine State Library They want to extend Internet access to all the rural libraries in Maine. That's just aweful! How can we keep them barefoot and ignorant if they have Internet access?! (This link gives a good intro to e-rate, by the way). Sabine Parish Schools, Louisiana These guys are trying to upgrade their 56kb lines to T1 lines and budgeted taking into account E-RATE discounts for their T1 lines for the upcoming year. Now they find out that the FCC isn't going to give them the money. Or maybe they will. Who knows? Well, that's just their own darned fault for believing that the FCC would follow the law, isn't it? What to do: WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMEN! (Senators and Representative). Tell him that you're tired of hearing about the "Gore Tax" scam that the phone companies are using to filch money that should go to schools, and that you want the Universal Access Fund money to go to where it's needed most: Schools, poor people, and rural areas. TELL HIM YOU SUPPORT THE E-RATE AS A NECESSARY STEP IN IMPROVING OUR SCHOOLS!

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Three years ago a Republican Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Local phone companies gave up the subsidies they'd been recieving from the long distance phone companies in exchange for being allowed to offer long distance services. In exchange, the long distance phone companies agreed to subsidize school and library Internet access the way they've been subsidizing local phone rates for years. The "Universal Access Fee" is nothing new. At one time in the mid 1980's 3/4ths of the cost of a long distance phone call went into the "Universal Access Fund". Does this mean we should call it the "Reagan Tax" rather than the "Gore Tax"?

Three years after the long distance companies struck their deal schools are still waiting for their subsidized rates and the "Universal Access Fee" money is still stuck in limbo. The phone companies have raised the spectre of the "Gore Tax" (Al Gore didn't have anything to do with it) to get out of the deal they made and hold on to money that should go to schools. The same Republicans who voted for the Telecommunications Act are now posturing about the "Gore Tax" that they themselves passed.

In the meantime, schools don't know what to do. They've turned in their e-rate grant applications, but will they get money? They don't know. Until they know, they can't even apply for other Internet grants.

For three years schools have been stuck in limbo, unable to properly budget or plan for Internet access. Now I read that the FCC has derailed the "e-rate" program while it is "further studied". We need to quit studying "e-rate" and make a decision -- are we going to hold the long distance companies to the deal they made? Yes or no? Either way, let's quit holding our children hostage to political posturing in Washington.

The Truth:

San Jose Mercury News. Only 14% of classrooms nationwide are wired and right now it's mostly affluent districts who have Internet access.

Example idiotic Republican rantings:

Phyllis Schaffley insists that the majority of schools already have Internet access (even though only 14% of them have their classrooms wired for it?!) and that the e-rate is a "Gore tax" even though Al Gore didn't vote for it or advocate it -- conservative Republican congressmen voted to extend the Universal Access Fund as part of their deal with the Baby Bells and long distance companies, a deal that the long distance companies are now trying to get out of. Ain't that cute? How much money did the phone companies pay Phyllis anyhow? Whoops, I forgot, Phyllis doesn't need to accept bribes from the Baby Bells, she gets her money by creating "scare stories" like this and scaring people into donating money to her non-profit "foundation" (which, of course, pays for her luxurious house and car and etc., what a scam!).

Who is being hurt:

Stockton, CA Public Schools. They want to wire their buildings for Internet access. Why, that's terrible! Those... those... cads!

Maine State Library They want to extend Internet access to all the rural libraries in Maine. That's just aweful! How can we keep them barefoot and ignorant if they have Internet access?! (This link gives a good intro to e-rate, by the way).

Sabine Parish Schools, Louisiana These guys are trying to upgrade their 56kb lines to T1 lines and budgeted taking into account E-RATE discounts for their T1 lines for the upcoming year. Now they find out that the FCC isn't going to give them the money. Or maybe they will. Who knows? Well, that's just their own darned fault for believing that the FCC would follow the law, isn't it?

What to do:

WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMEN! (Senators and Representative). Tell him that you're tired of hearing about the "Gore Tax" scam that the phone companies are using to filch money that should go to schools, and that you want the Universal Access Fund money to go to where it's needed most: Schools, poor people, and rural areas. TELL HIM YOU SUPPORT THE E-RATE AS A NECESSARY STEP IN IMPROVING OUR SCHOOLS!

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The E-RATE and the non-existent "Gore Tax"

The Truth:

Example idiotic Republican rantings:

Who is being hurt:

What to do: