This Is How Net Neutrality's End Will Hurt Low And Moderate Income People

[Comentary] The Federal Communications Commission GOP majority did what it was intended to do with net neutrality, which was ignore overwhelmingly positive public support across political affiliations and kill the policy anyway. Aside from hurting real sources of innovation, rather than the fake sources like finding new ways to charge more, it opens the door for people of more moderate means and the poor to be at a greater disadvantage than before.

Reducing effective Internet access has a profound impact on low- to moderate-income individuals:

• Government services at all levels are increasingly moving online. If you struggle with multiple jobs or the travel time through public transit necessary to get to government offices, reducing access to the Internet means reducing access to vital services.
• Internet access is nearly universal in importance in finding jobs, according to the Pew Research Center. Smartphones are gaining increasing importance in job hunting. Finding work without adequate online access becomes more difficult
• If you've had kids in college in recent years, you'll know that Internet access is virtually mandatory, whether to do research, gain access to course materials, or manage interactions with the bureaucracy.

[Erik Sherman is a feelance journalist]