Is public broadband a threat to taxpayers? Let towns decide

[Commentary] A casual observer might think towns across the country are contemplating Communism, rather than construction projects. Such is the state of the national debate over how to build more high speed Internet, which is becoming as indispensable to modern life as hot water or electricity.

The underlying argument from groups with names like the Center for Boundless Innovation in Technology and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance is that city-run Internet will inevitably turn into an expensive failure, and that state laws that limit municipal broadband projects (either through outright bans or cumbersome procedural rules) amount to a sensible shield for consumers against government boondoggles. The upshot is that there doesn’t appear to be an over-arching economic case one way or the other as to whether cities should supply broadband in the same way they do sewers or electricity. The problem is that municipal voters in many states don’t get a choice to decide in the first place. As Harold Feld, a senior lawyer with advocacy group Public Knowledge notes, this situation bodes poorly not only for the push for more broadband, but for basic American principles of self-governance as well.