Tom Bonnett I have no ideological problem with Virginia's sale of discounted high-speed Internet access to the business sector, but a very tight rationale for this business subsidy must be clearly established. Any competitor to a firm receiving special benefits from the state can and will cry foul. Perhaps the best use of this strategy is as a catalyst to nurture new business development, which means a time-limited benefit. Competition is good. It provides choices.
Competition is bad.
It requires choices. Unless this type of service simply isn' t available otherwise, I am generally opposed to government provision of these types of services. Bradley Dugger States should use their purchasing power to leverage all Internet access including that for the business sector. This leveraging process would best be done through partnerships with the private sector and not in competition with the private sector. In fact, from my understanding, this is also the model that Virginia is using.