News the other day was
that the City of Somerset had established a downtown WiFi hotspot for
internet users. The news of that cheered me because I felt it had
been a need for quite some time. Now users can connect to the
internet without burning data on their LTE connection and costing
them money. This is just another way that the city has acted on
behalf of citizens to create a better life and community in which to
live. Somerset is rapidly gaining a reputation as being one of the
most progressive cities in the nation and that recognition is not
lost on businesses who are looking at this area for expansion. The
new City Government and energy structure will be another beacon for
expansion minded businesses. Not only is Somerset well positioned to
supply energy needs with its ownership of the municipally owned
natural gas system but advances into high speed internet connectivity
will also be alluring. One of the things I would really like to see
is the creation of a very high speed fiber optic internet system that
would make the current speeds seem like dial-up. The technology is
present, only the will and money are lacking but the city has shown a
willingness to invest in the future of its citizens so I predict that
won't be too far down the line.
One of the obstacles to
such endeavors by the City is the current hubbub that Senator Girdler
has led alleging the improper entrance of city government into the
realm of private enterprise. His is an ideological and specious
argument since the city is already engaged in several enterprises
that private enterprise is also engaged in. Would the Senator
suggest that the City step aside if Columbia Gas wanted to enter the
local market?
All of the hue and cry
about socialism and repression of private enterprise is either an
attempt to stir up passions or just plain ignorance of the many ways
that governments offer services that are unaffordable by other means.
With the operation of the natural gas system Somerset is able to
fund services that would otherwise have to be paid for out of taxes.
Should Somerset then either raise taxes or discontinue services? Of
course the city could just allow private enterprise to offer the
services which then would be subject to whatever prices those
entities would choose to set. We saw how that worked with the
gasoline prices but the city stepped in and provided a competitive
market which had not existed before. Prior to that the gasoline
distributors operated in a captive market in which free enterprise
did not operate in response to citizen demand. Instead it commanded
top price and if one did not like it, well, he or she could just
drive to London or Corbin to buy gasoline. That is not a free
market.
By the same token the
establishment of a high speed internet connection that would serve
all of Somerset and potentially a wider market would break the hold
that just a few providers now enjoy. At the present the local
providers offer what is considered to be a slow and erratic
connection at a price that is exorbitant for the kind of widespread
use that a progressive community demands. With the advent of
streaming video services and video chats the demand for connection
speed is skyrocketing. With this kind of thing you can either get on
the bus or go home. Fortunately Somerset is setting a standard of
sitting on the front seat of the bus.
With the city's
presentation of availability and progressiveness there is a tipping
point. It may sometimes seem that the investments are not bringing a
benefit equal to the cost but once that tipping point is reached then
opportunity comes in a cascade. In the past few years we have seen
the reluctance of our area spurn the chance for opportunities that
could have been the game changers for prosperity. Fear broke the
back of the BioLab venture and not even a willing and powerful
Congressman could overcome that. That one project would have drawn a
highly educated work force and would have resulted in the lifting of
all boats for the county. Somerset seems ready to grasp those
opportunities and I am hopeful that the new county administration
will be willing to enter partnerships with the city to bring
prosperity to the entire county. There is much to be done.
I have used this example
before but Lexington in the early 1960s was a sleepy little college
town. Many of you remember that town but then IBM located in
Lexington and that was their tipping point. Other businesses
followed the example and visionary leaders went all out to keep
Lexington ahead of the boom and it was hard. I was employed with
General Telephone at that time and I know how hard keeping up with
demand was. Now Lexington is one of the bright spots in our state. I
will tell you this. The only thing that Lexington had that we don't
was an interstate highway but we are not too far off on the
transportation end. And we are ahead of Lexington's posture at that
time with energy and communication. Somerset-Pulaski County has a
lot to offer if we seek private enterprise/governmental partnerships
and engage with vision.
We mustn't fall prey to
the ideological protests of socialism and the claims that government
is inept at everything it does. That is a self-serving canard for
which there is no support. Some things government does very well and
better than private enterprise. Who does private enterprise come to
when they want something? You guessed it. Governments that have the
resources and support of the people. Without the welfare of the
people there is none of it worth it.
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