When it comes to fixing the problems facing our state, government’s best strategy is often to get out of the way. That’s especially true when it comes to expanding internet access to rural areas.
Despite efforts by state and local governments to improve internet access, Mississippi ranks 49th in the U.S. for broadband coverage. This has officials in some communities looking for a government-subsidized solution: municipal broadband.
Numerous government internet projects all across America have already failed. Likewise, many municipalities considering such projects already have several internet providers available to them without government getting involved.
While Mississippi doesn’t need local governments using tax dollars to build needless boondoggles, it does need a way to expand internet service to those not currently served. The fastest and cheapest way to make that happen is through a project recently announced by Microsoft president Brad Smith.
The project utilizes unused television stations, known as “white spaces,” to create a sort of high-speed “Super Wi-Fi” broadband service that can connect Mississippi’s rural communities without running broadband infrastructure to remote areas. The only thing standing in the way of this dream becoming a reality is the Federal Communications Commission.
The agency must move forward with its proposal to set aside three currently unused TV frequencies in each market in order for white spaces internet coverage to operate. Once the FCC takes that step, companies can begin expanding high-speed internet coverage to every hillside and hollow in Mississippi — without the high costs and environmental impacts associated with laying miles of wires to build a broadband communications network.
Other countries are already testing white spaces internet. In Malawi, one of the least developed nations in Africa, private sector providers are preparing to use television white spaces to rapidly bring Wi-Fi to millions of people. India is also looking to pioneer the use of white spaces to bring broadband coverage to rural areas.
If places like Malawi and India can successfully use white spaces to expand internet coverage, the FCC should allow rural Mississippians to benefit from the same technology.
That same white spaces technology is another example of why local governments should avoid broadband boondoggles: government internet programs are too expensive, become outdated too quickly and fail to provide service to people who can’t already access the internet.
That didn’t prevent Biloxi from seeking state permission to set up their own broadband network last legislative session. The legislation (HB 1716) promised to bring “more accessible, affordable and ubiquitous Internet services to all businesses and residents within the city at broadband speeds of at least one gigabit.” The current FCC standard for broadband coverage is 25Mpbs. Biloxi community leaders were ambitiously seeking to establish a system offering speeds 40 times faster than that.
In neighboring states, municipal broadband projects have failed spectacularly, leaving taxpayers on the hook for millions. Opelika, Alabama, for instance, has sunk $43 million into its city’s broadband network, shifting costs to electric ratepayers. Lafayette, Louisiana, has spent $160 million on its subsidized broadband network, at a cost of $9,750 per subscriber. Memphis lost more than $32 million on its network, which was later sold for a measly $11.5 million.
Government is already the largest employer in Mississippi, and it is already doing too much. Government needs to stay out of the broadband market, which is competitive and requires ongoing strategic investments in new technology to keep up. While high-speed internet can be a powerful economic catalyst for Mississippi communities, these same communities should avoid using scarce taxpayer resources to invest in technologies the private sector is better suited to provide.
Both the FCC and the Mississippi Legislature should get out of the way and let the marketplace bring affordable, high-quality internet service to Mississippi communities. Just because a problem exists, doesn’t mean government should try to solve it.
Jameson Taylor, Ph.D., is vice president for policy, Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
Over the past month The Clarion-Ledger has highlighted aspects of Medicaid that make the program feel indispensable, with Sam Hall proclaiming that anyone who questions Medicaid’s “valuable services to deserving people” is just plain ignorant. As someone who cares about improving health care for the poor and disabled, however, I find Medicaid’s poor health outcomes shocking. With flexibility from Washington and a focus on quality, states like Mississippi could provide better care for families in need.
It’s difficult to argue with heart-wrenching stories about how Medicaid is helping Mississippi families. For the price — $8 trillion over the next 10 years — one would hope advocates could find a few good stories. Not every Medicaid story has a happy ending, though. A University of Virginia study found that Medicaid patients are more likely to die than the uninsured, and far more likely to die than those with private insurance.
Another story we are not hearing is what the “gold-standard” Oregon Health Insurance Experiment found: that Medicaid recipients, compared to the uninsured, use a lot more health care services without experiencing improved physical health outcomes. The Oregon study also demonstrated that the primary beneficiaries of Medicaid are not patients but hospitals.
The worst thing about Medicaid is that it is crowding out innovative solutions that could deliver better care — not just more services. Breaking up this big-government Medicaid monopoly is going to require hard work from all of us. Here are three questions to start the conversation.
First: Does Medicaid provide good insurance for low-income families?
As many as 50 percent of primary care physicians in Mississippi are not accepting new Medicaid patients, as compared to 7 percent not accepting new patients with private insurance. As mentioned, Medicaid patients also have, at best, the same health outcomes as the uninsured. Clearly, Medicaid is inferior insurance. State and federal policymakers should facilitate the development of better insurance products tailored to low-income customers.
Second: Is Medicaid a cost-effective way of reimbursing hospitals for uncompensated care?
In spite of studies (and common sense) showing otherwise, hospitals claim they are losing money on Medicaid. Under federal law, hospital emergency rooms are prohibited from turning patients away. Medicaid is a pricey backdoor mechanism for funding this mandate. Tax credits might be part of the solution for private hospitals. In addition, nonprofit and public hospitals should offer more charity care — certainly far more than the tiny amount provided now under vague “community benefit” provisions.
Third: Is Medicaid the best way to help families facing extraordinary medical costs?
Prior to Obamacare, Mississippi had developed a high-risk insurance pool to help people with significant health care challenges. We need more creative thinking about risk pools (for instance, an income tax credit for donations to nonprofit-managed risk pools); and we need to focus on supply-side deregulation (encouraging telemed, expanding scope, and eliminating certificates of need) that will lower costs and unleash new medical technologies. These reforms are better than depending on a Medicaid program that will be sorely tempted to ration care to high-need populations even as it expands coverage to able-bodied childless adults, for which the Obamacare Medicaid expansion curiously offers a higher federal match.
Finally, I appreciate The Clarion-Ledger trying to inform readers about Medicaid, but I urge a good dose of old-journalism-school skepticism. When the director of Medicaid boasts that there is virtually no eligibility fraud, perhaps it would be helpful to note that other states are uncovering significant irregularities. Or when a Medicaid activist asserts that Congress’ repeal-and-replace bill is going to remove thousands of children from Medicaid, it would be appropriate to fact-check this number, or at least note that these children are going to go back on CHIP, a different insurance program run by the Division of Medicaid.
I am confident we can all agree on the necessity for fresh thinking about health care. Instead of just thinking about it, though, I hope Congress gives states freedom to demonstrate how they can either radically improve upon Medicaid, or even better, develop targeted solutions aimed at helping the diverse populations Medicaid is currently failing.
Jameson Taylor is vice president for policy at the Mississippi Center for Public Policy in Jackson. He can be reached at [email protected].
Growing up in the Jackson “bubble,” I knew I wanted to try something new when it came time to attend college. I received a wonderful education at Jackson Academy, but my views were rarely challenged or debated. Attending the University of Alabama was a dream come true, and I looked forward to encountering diverse beliefs and thoughts at a top-tier school boasting more national merit finalists than any other public university. I vowed, though, that I would never lose my faith or convictions.
I vividly recall an honors college seminar taught by an outspokenly liberal professor who asked us to write about something controversial. We could cite any source but one — the Bible. We could cite the Quran, Mao’s Little Red Book or Dr. Seuss. Just not the Bible. In this professor’s opinion, the Bible was not even history; it was just fairy tales. I questioned such intolerance, arguing against my professor’s double standard. I was berated in front of the entire class. I learned then that my views were not tolerated or valued in this class. Unfortunately, mine is not an isolated case.
According to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the University of Alabama has a speech code rating of “yellow.” This means the university has ambiguous protections for free speech. Here in Mississippi, Alcorn State and the University of Southern Mississippi have a yellow rating, whereas Ole Miss and Mississippi State University have a green rating, which indicates no serious threats to free speech. Jackson State and Delta State have red ratings, which means they have “at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.”
Consider this “Student Life” regulation at Delta State: “Words, behavior, and/or actions which inflict mental or emotional distress on others and/or disrupt the educational environment at Delta State University are strictly prohibited.” Many things can cause “mental or emotional distress.” President Donald Trump’s election continues to be a source of great distress for some college students. Should Delta State ban students from displaying Trump bumper stickers or wearing Trump T-shirts? Will the school’s computer servers block internet sites that post pictures of Trump? A regulation prohibiting “mental or emotional distress” is too vague and could lead to administrative actions that violate students’ First Amendment rights.
While both public and private institutions should protect and encourage free speech, publicly funded universities are legally obligated to do so. The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed this First Amendment right repeatedly: including for religious speech and activities (Widmar v. Vincent (1981)). Concluded the Court: “With respect to persons entitled to be there, our cases leave no doubt that the First Amendment rights of speech and association extend to the campuses of state universities.”
Many institutions have “vice presidents of diversity” who focus solely on that issue. We see diversity based on race, gender and sexual orientation, yet not so much on diversity of thought. Most university professors identify as liberal, and many go further left than that.
A 2016 Econ Journal Watch study that analyzed faculty voter registration records found that Democrats outnumbered Republicans 12 to 1 at 40 leading U.S. universities. Such bias wouldn’t be a problem if we were on a level playing field. But all too often professors and college administrators use their positions of authority and power to intimidate and silence students like me. Many conservatives feel afraid of voicing their opinions because of the political correctness that plagues our nation’s educational system.
In addition, conservative guest speakers often face unfriendly welcomes and threats. Even former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice backed out of a commencement address at Rutgers University after fierce opposition from students and faculty. In response, then-president Barack Obama condemned Rutgers’ intolerance. “If you disagree with somebody, bring them in and ask them tough questions,” chided the president. “Don't feel like you got to shut your ears off because you're too fragile and somebody might offend your sensibilities.”
Some on the left may have become hateful and violent, as we have seen from the Steve Scalise shooting and the Black Lives Matter protests, but we have to come together to protect free speech and free association. If we want a free nation that respects all beliefs, we must demand that students have the right to express themselves as protected by the First Amendment.
Daniel Ashford is a research associate at the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.