One in ten households has government-paid internet service.

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A program was started “because COVID” to pay for people to have high-speed internet. Initially the cost was almost entirely covered for a basic internet package, but with the new year the program underwent revisions and now pays around half the needed amount. However, the reduced subsidy hasn’t slowed the signup rates, in fact they increase each week.

I don’t think the usual right-wing response that this keeps people dependent is useful. It doesn’t, but a nontrivial chunk of people like the idea of not-paying, however small the amount of subsidized not-paying. So there’s always an incentive to create these “jobs for the girls” programs even if it’s just a 5 or 10 dollar credit after a few years.

I also, honestly, don’t think the idea that tentacles of government will reach into one’s life more intensely because of grabbing these goodies is all that realistic. It’s true-enough, in that sure, government workers can hurt you at any time, but they were already able and perfectly willing to do so with far fewer tendrils of invasive opportunity.

One of the greater tricks the devilish right wing punditocracy has pulled is convincing ordinary citizens that they should consider their government at every level an alien intrusion into “real life”, rather than people from their communities who seek to protect and maintain the interests of those communities based on principles of social and civic harmony.  Progressives are thus able to claim you have to be on their team if you want that, because righties have no rebuttal except “get the gummint outa your life!” (while being subsidized a dozen different, very expensive ways by said government).

A lot of people over the years have told me I’m not very right wing or conservative when I frame government services in these terms, but that number has definitely shrunk and continues to shrink (including people changing their minds) since Our (First) Year of COVID (tyranny).   Which is nice, because maybe then we can have it sooner rather than later.