Posted on 04/01/2025 1:43:47 PM PDT by nickcarraway
It’s like it’s his first time learning just how inefficient our government is.
Comedian and late night host Jon Stewart is obviously pretty liberal, and has been a big critic of the Donald Trump administration in its efforts to cut the government through Elon Musk’s DOGE. But after this one, you’ve gotta think he at least understands why it might be necessary.
In case you weren’t aware, the Joe Biden administration included $42 billion in its 2021 infrastructure spending package to expand broadband internet access to 25 million homes that didn’t have access to high speed internet. Sounds great, right?
Well here we are 4 years later and not a SINGLE new home has been added to broadband as a result of that $42 billion. That’s right, zero.
That’s our government for you.
But apparently even Jon Stewart didn’t realize all the insane red tape that was involved with the government program – and his mind was blown when he found out.
During a recent episode of his The Weekly Show podcast, liberal commentator Ezra Klein explained just how ridiculous the hoops are that states have to go through to get the funding from the federal government to expand their broadband network.
As it turns out, there’s a FOURTEEN step process that jurisdictions have to go through, which includes submitting multiple “initial proposals,” opening their proposals up to comments and challenges, get approval from government agencies like the NTIA (the National Telecommunications and Information Administration), and then states must open up a competitive process to receive sub-grants for the funding. And after all of that, we’re only at step 12 of the process.
After all that, states must then submit a final proposal (remember, they’ve already submitted two “initial proposals”), which must then be reviewed and approved by NTIA – all before they get a dollar or help one American get internet access.
Insanity.
As Klein walks through the insane steps of the process, you can see Stewart losing his mind over the ridiculous red tape:
“I’m speechless, honestly. It’s far worse than I could have imagined. But the fact that they amputated their own legs on this is what’s so stunning.”
And Klein points out that this is the process that Democrats in both the Biden administration and Congress implemented for this program:
“This is a bill passed by Democrats with a regulatory structure written by a Democratic administration.”
All told, 56 jurisdictions have applied for funding under the program, but at this point only three of the 56 have made it to step 14, which is waiting for final approval from the NTIA. Thirty jurisdictions have made it through 12 steps and just have to submit their final proposal for review. But in the meantime, that $42 billion is just sitting there and hasn’t helped one American.
Absolutely insane.
Now, I’m sure this isn’t going to do anything to change Stewart’s mind on the bigger picture, but you can see that his mind was blown when he realized just how inefficient and downright ridiculous our government really is.
Making the case for DOGE even stronger, whether he agrees with their actions or not…
After three decades of mind-losing, how much mind does Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz have left to lose?
Check your math.
I need to check my reading. Sorry.
“I wonder if people on the left are faking it because they did know or are genuinely having their eyes opened.”
I doubt VERY seriously that Stewart was surprised by leftist lunacy - after all, he’s been one forever. And if he was surprised it’s meaningless - since, as a lifetime leftist, it will have absolutely no effect on the (100%) odds of him voting leftist forever.
84 million is close to the population of half the states in the USA. Considering there would only be one Starlink per household. $42 billion would be enough to provide fast Internet to more than half the states in the USA.
Trump talked about this abomination of taxpayer dollars given out during Biden’s administration at many of his rallies. Who got the money? Someone did. I hope that DOGE con figure it out and expose it.
It’s a shame that the people on the left and the Democrats’ willing accomplishes in the legacy media refused to broadcast what actually was said at the rallies. They were only there hoping for a gotcha moment or worse, which almost happened in Butler, Pennsylvania.
I think that there is a major in some colleges concerning writing proposals for grants from the federal government. That is just sickening.
You say that, but don’t forget that back in the 1960’s our great government got us to the moon.
I think most of them are getting red-pilled ( maybe 60%), but the rest are in on it or just absolutely ignorant/stuck on stupid.
Government is only interested in the process and never the outcome.
That’s what keeps them employed. Until now. He he.
Or you could supply one year free for 29 million households.
If they dig into this, I bet they will find billions already paid out for “studies” and other stuff tangentially related to rural broadband. And I bet the studiers are left-wing NGOs.
Well here we are 4 years later and not a SINGLE new home has been added to broadband as a result of that $42 billion. That’s right, zero.
Ah but how much of that 42 billion is still around and if not where did it go?
With $42 billion, if they were $1000 each you could get 42 million of them. But they’re half as expensive as that, so you can buy twice as many as that, 84 million. I’m using the American billion here, 10^9.
“Now, I’m sure this isn’t going to do anything to change Stewart’s mind on the bigger picture, but you can see that his mind was blown when he realized just how inefficient and downright ridiculous our government really is.”
Certainly one factor in Stewart’s ignorance is the fact that the major media networks like CNN spew propaganda. If you listen to these celebrities it is clear where they get their information.
People can get all the information and still be liberal or conservative depending on how they prioritize issues. However when all their info is completely one-sided they can be clueless as to how corrupt the old Democrat Party has become.
Is there a reason we shoulc care what this jerk thinks?
THAT I can believe.
How much of the $42 billion has actually been spent? Not just appropriated and rolled over.
I wonder if that $42B is sitting somewhere earning interest for someone who then has a very good reason to delay paying out as long as possible.
Inefficient? Those criminals have laundered billions into their own pockets for years. And nobody did a thing. That's a pretty efficient con.
The NGO’s are the big deal. I started analyzing them years back by reading their 990’s. I started doing that because of Larry Klsyman and Judicial Watch, I didn’t like that it was a “charity”. At that time there was about 500,000 nonprofits in the US. Today there are over 1.5 million. Many are in business to fight tax paying businesses, push a political agenda or launder money.
The left bitches about “corporations not paying taxes”. IMO they should pay no taxes because that gets added to the cost of goods and services. The left bitches about corporate taxes while not saying a word about “nonprofits / charities NGO’s” paying zero taxes. Neither does the right. You know why? Every state and federal politician has a 501 they get money funneled into then that money get put back in their pockets or their family pockets. Elon Musk has figured this out. I’m a data analysis and do is he, all he has to do is take the raw 990 data and start looking at it.
After all these years I still want to spit when I look at a Judicial Watch 990 filing. See if you can figure out why:
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521885088/202412149349301561/full
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