No, AT&T and smaller independents made money. They were profitable. They used profits to grow their company, just like you did. At some point AT&T was forced to share some of its profit with the smaller companies to help them be profitable as well. Then the rural electrification administration was created as part of the New Deal and government loans were made available so that local power co-ops could be built. They were profitable too and those loans were all repaid. Later the program was expanded to the telephone companies to incent them to build where there was no service.
The government never returned any of the tax money to Ma Bell or the independents. They bootstrapped with the assistance of loan programs. The system was in no way built with tax dollars. And that is still true today. ----- Original Message ----- From: "RickG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 10:27 AM Subject: Re: [WISPA] gotta love USF!!!! > Chuck, I was speaking about more recent times, not the origination of > the system and it's beginnings. What I am referring to is exactly what > you said is - "Government regulation stepped in to create the monopoly > and to tax it". The current phone system was "built out" with much > funding coming from tax dollars. With that said, the American tax > payer has paid for the network and continues to pay, correct? > -RickG > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 12:11 PM, Chuck McCown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> The phone system was not developed by tax dollars. >> It was developed by guys like Art Brothers who hand built miles of open >> wire >> pole lines by himself. >> He later got loans from the REA (later to become the RUS) to improve his >> system. A program that serves as a profit center for the us government. >> You all should be thanking the RUS for making your income tax bill lower >> through money that flows from that program to the general fund. >> >> Do you really think Ma Bell was not profitable and had to be supported by >> taxes? >> When I think of blue chip stock, I think of the old AT&T. >> >> How was the phone system developed by tax dollars? 120 years ago there >> was >> a boom in telecommunications with in some cases multiple LECs in the same >> city. Government regulation stepped in to create the monopoly and to tax >> it. But they did not build the bell system or any of the independents. >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "RickG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> >> Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 10:04 AM >> Subject: Re: [WISPA] gotta love USF!!!! >> >> >>> Chuck, so your definition of a "tax" is if you are forced to pay? >>> Keeping in mind that the phone system was developed as a public >>> utility by tax dollars that we all were forced to pay. IMO, that means >>> that we should be able use it without being encumbered by fees other >>> than what are necessary to support the system is was designed for. Am >>> I really off base here? >>> -RickG >>> >>> On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 11:55 AM, Chuck McCown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>>> Use magic jack, ham radio, smoke signals, skype or the post office. >>>> Your telephone bill comes from a commercial enterprise. >>>> You do not have to participate. >>>> Therefore you are not forced to pay into our charity program. >>>> That is not a tax. >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>> From: "RickG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>>> To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> >>>> Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 9:52 AM >>>> Subject: Re: [WISPA] gotta love USF!!!! >>>> >>>> >>>>> Tacking a fee on my telephone bill is a form of taxation. -RickG >>>>> >>>>> On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 11:34 AM, Chuck McCown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>>>> wrote: >>>>>> The current USF audits by USAC are turning up collusion between >>>>>> school >>>>>> districts (the principle is the brother of the local ISP) and >>>>>> provider >>>>>> of >>>>>> goods and services of E-rate funded projects. The audits have not >>>>>> shown >>>>>> any >>>>>> telephone company to be misusing this money. >>>>>> >>>>>> And I want to repeat, this is not taxpayer money. Most of this money >>>>>> is >>>>>> from a charge tacked onto the bills of the RBOC customers. It is >>>>>> revenue >>>>>> pooling and re-distribution. >>>>>> >>>>>> So, lets back off the "misuse by telephone company" tone of this >>>>>> discussion. >>>>>> If we want to point fingers, you will find the fingers are pointing >>>>>> at >>>>>> the >>>>>> local networking and ISP companies. That is the major source of the >>>>>> misuse. >>>>>> The second is cell phone companies claiming to be providing pots >>>>>> service >>>>>> to >>>>>> rural customers via tellular units. Western Wireless built a >>>>>> business >>>>>> plan >>>>>> around tapping the USF for all it could get. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> >>>>>> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >>>>>> >>>>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>>>> >>>>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>> >>>>> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >>>>> >>>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>>> >>>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >>>> >>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>> >>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>> >>> >>> >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >>> >>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>> >>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>> >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >> http://signup.wispa.org/ >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >> >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >> >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >> > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! 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