Expect Higher Cable Broadband Prices > Guaranteed way to lower Broadband prices

Guaranteed way to lower Broadband prices

John im right with you...and your idea applies not only to this particular situation but many other similar happenings in this country in both gov't and public sectors. What has happened in this country of ours is very very sad, almost embarrassing. We all complain about prices for this or that yet VERY few of us are actually willing to take the necessary (and very simple) steps to change it by refusing to pay/use the service...mostly because we are all fat, lazy and stupid...but then again we were all programmed to be this way for a very long time now.

We need to get back to our roots and band together more in some civilized & organized fashion as american citizens to fight for what WE WANT from both gov't and industry today. The more groups we form that are willing to take actions such as this might actually give the average "joe" a voice in how he, his family and his childrens family get to live their lives...everything in this country is about money and corruption...even medical care has taken a complete nose dive, i think its easier finding a good mechanic than a doctor who truly cares about his patients health these days.

Its really sad and sickening...but now with the internet at our fingertips, you would think we could all use this as a tool to make banding together as a nation and forming a plan of change much easier and more organized than anything we could have accomplished 20 or more years ago...yet...nothing. We all behave like sheep in these moments.

Dave

reply to JohnUSA1
JohnUSA1,

I agree with your idea and think that it would work. The problem, however, is called "diffusion of responsibility" which is something I learned several years ago in a CPR class. Basically it referred to how when many people are witnesses to the same accident no one takes action because they all presume that someone else has already/will contact 911 and will administer CPR.

It is sad really, but people are so content with the status quo that things like broadband rates will never be in control of those that should have control of it... we the consumers. I think a good majority of the population in this country suffers from extreme apathy. For those that may not be familiar with the term, apathy is defined as:

1. Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.
2. Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.

'Tis the same reason why things like environmental issues and the rising cost of fuel (which affect all people on this planet) will always remain out of the consumers control. God, just thinking about how many apathetic people there are in this country (let alone the entire world) makes me sick!

Peace
--
In relative terms life is shorter than the blink of an eye. Remember that each and every day because in the end it's not about what you've done but how you've lived.

the problem is getting millions of people to do that. many companies, like gas or utility companies, think that these thing are necessities so they can just make up whatever prices they fell. And for those that choose our current president, he is all about big business and does not care to much about us. i don't know if it is just me but i think there is no such thing as middle class any more. oh well....

"Diffusion" is something i agree with, but i dont agree with apathy too much, because i believe there is much concern for many millions of people these days, more so than in years passed.

Theres a very simple sounding solution to get millions of people to take action. Use psychology and a very common human trait typically refrred to as "monkey see, monkey do". You see, i personally believe that the biggest reason responsible for it being so difficult to gt millions of poeple to take action is simply because most of us feel as if we would be taking action alone or that our actions in typical small numbers wont get anything changed anyway, so why bother taking the time out to sit down and write a letter, then find out where i have to send it, goto the post office to mail it, then the right person will probably never read it anyway...a waste of time most folks would think to themselves. This is the mentality of most americans today i think, and to a large extent they're probably correct in thinking this way.

But the internet can help change this way of thinking and open up an entirely new way of thinking and taking action for the average "joe" american.

Power is obtained 1 of 2 ways...either through money (lobbyists) or very large, cohesive & organized numbers of people taking action together as a single unit for a particualar cause (not thousands of ppl, we're talking MILLIONS). It is the latter that with some serious thought, explanation and a professional type of organization/implementation can become quite an interesting proposition.

I've been pondering ideas of this nature in the back of my mind along with plans of getting them implemented, but to make a long explanantion short....lets take the average person who i have described above...not taking any action to change any of the things he is always complaining about because he truly feels it would be a wasted effort because all those letters to washington get trashed to begin with, right?...BUT...

...what if this person was aware and well informed that every neighbor on his block along with 30% of all the cable customers in his county were planning a scheduled cut-off date for their services if a talked about price increase was passed there?...all of a sudden, "average joe" is no longer feeling so alone like before, and if he felt that enough people were planning on taking part in this action that maybe there really IS a chance to get something done!...if he feels strongly enough about taking part in making a change he's alot more likely now to get off his butt. He's also more willing to possbily have to do without service for awhile because he'll be going through it with his neighbors and wont feel as if he's losing out on something that everyone else has...he wont be alone on this one, and such a direct action with so many numbers behind him would most certainly yeild some sort of positive result most likely sooner than later.

There is great power in numbers. The trick is to figure out how to attract & organize those huge numbers (easy) and to properly evaluate the specific agenda at hand to come up with the most correct and responsible course of action needed to obtain the desired result of the majority without throwing ourselves into some sort of nationwide economic depression.

At the surface these may sound like some rather radical ideas ( to me too) but i truly feel that if the national majority was really willing to step back in time and ponder on what some radical but fiscially responsible changes might mean to their families, general lifestyle and overall health we might actually be able to relieve ourselves of 50% of the daily stress we all live with each day and lower the crime rate at the same time.

Its the citizens majority that can change this country, NOT our gov't. No matter what you were brainwashed to believe as a child, the gov't in itself does not exist anymore as an entity "of, by and for the people"..this is a pipe dream originally created with good intent but quickly soured. In its current state it better serves itself than its people at times.

Using the internet to form a single public venue where all interested american citizens can conveniently come to congregate under 1 roof to participate in discussions/votes/plans of action regarding both local and national issues they feel strongly about is the first step in realizing the true potential we all have acting together as one alliance.

With no red tape and no letters to Washington we really CAN band together in a responsible way and make BIG things happen VERY quickly.

I believe with very little effort on the part of the average person and from the comfort of his/her own home, along with the backing of a few big wigs and support from some high profile personalities we can start to build, no...we can start to ressurect a country that is honestly run "of, by and FOR" its people.

I dont know about you, but if someone told me there was a website you could visit to "complain" and make changes on 3 or 4 issues that were of terriffic importance to me and my family, and instead of just "writing a letter" and dealing with red tape you could easiy just cast a vote online and have 40-50 million americans (and neighbors) standing behind you ready to take immediate action towards implementing the change right away, AND its backed by a few political figures, one or 2 major corporations and a couple of movie stars speaking out about it, PLUS didnt you hear that the folks in "xyz county" used it to stop their cable company from rasing rates...i mean, geez...id ask right away what the damn website address is and id sure as heck take a look for myself...who wouldnt??

Dave

Radical thinking? well, only if the majority don't agree.