Tag: monopoly

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Time Warner’s Predatory Pricing

Like many communities across the country, Greensboro is attempting to lure internet giant Google to the area to lay the foundation for their super-fast broadband service. City officials have begun to mobilize and there is even a Facebook group that has cropped up where citizens can show their support for the project. I missed the following video when it first was posted, but thanks to a comment posting by Jim Caserta at Ed Cone’s blog, it was brought to my attention.

The town of Wilson, NC has become famous in these parts for launching their own, privately held high-speed fiber network. They did this despite enormous pressure from Time Warner Cable. The network in Wilson is also noteworthy because it has demonstrated what Time Warner is willing to do in order to put such locally owned high-speed networks out of business. Catharine Rice gave a presentation recently that outlines the kinds of price slashing TWC is willing endure in order to hold onto business, even while customers in nearby Raleigh have seen their rates rise from 5-50%. We can’t see the data she’s presenting in this clip, but it’s not necessary, the facts speak for themselves.

Time Warner cable has had a monopoly in North Carolina for far too long and I firmly believe that Google’s entry into the region would serve all of us well. I wasn’t able to make it to the initial community meeting to discuss ideas on how to lure Google to the Triad, but I damn will make the next one. I’m tired of paying ever-increasing cable rates for inferior broadband service. I can’t record HD shows in my Time Warner DVR because half the time they’re not available when I tune them in. The price breaks the people of Wilson are getting are almost obscene compared to what we pay here in Greensboro and it’s high time we let them know. I’ve had enough.

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This Isn’t Monopoly

I’m listening to Brad & Britt this morning as callers phone it to voice their support for John McCain since he can’t seem to remember how many properties he and his wife owns. For the record Politico says 8, but it could be as high as 10, but what’s a few million dollars between friends anyway? What I love the most are how McCain supporters on the radio and over at Ed Cone’s blog seem to think this epic blunder doesn’t really matter. I think I could slice the hypocrisy with a knife it’s so thick! These are the very same people that have been trying to make Obama out to be an ivy league, real estate swindling, Paris Hilton hob-knobbing celebrity for the past few months, and now they say that just because John McCain can’t remember if he has 8 or 10 homes, it doesn’t mean he’s any more elitist than you or I.

I’ve got news for all of you. 99.9% of Americans will never own multiple houses, let alone just one. I’ve actually never met anyone who owned more than one, and I’m sure that if I did, they’d know exactly how many properties were on their balance sheet. McCain doesn’t handle his finances, his wife does, so what does THAT say about his credibility when it comes to handling the economy of this country? Oh, and all those people who are trying to make Obama out to be just as much of a rich elitist as McCain – Obama earned his money with a best selling book (which he wrote himself), he didn’t marry into it. He left college with piles of debt which he just recently paid off thanks to old fashion hard work. So the next time you claim Obama isn’t “one of us” just remember that Obama doesn’t own Park Place and Boardwalk. McCain does.