November 8, 2005

Ashland’s Flailing Network (AFN)

From the RIGHT side

Mike Green

A lesson in socialism

There is no doubt the city leaders who came up with the idea to delve into the business world and launch a high tech company owned by the residents of Ashland were well intentioned.

But they were not well informed.

There is a reason why socialism, for all of its good intentions and utopian ideals … just doesn’t work.

The notion that once the working class proletariat obtains the status of ruling class (through incremental steps or revolution) it will then devote its time to nurturing society for the greater good seems circular to me.

The reality is that once the working class finds that it is no longer the proletariat, but rather the ruling class bourgeoisie facing revolt from the oppressed proletariat that feels it has been wronged, it will seek to maintain power in any way it can ... just as the previous ruling class did. Therefore, the result is a continual class warfare that amounts to little more than harsh division between people based on a multitude of reasons regardless of how many or few travel up and down the socio-economic spectrum.

Government is, by design, supposed to be limited to specific duties and a particular role in society. Whenever it begins to believe it has the answers to any societal dilemmas, problems and ills outside of its mandate, it runs the risk of jeopardizing the general good it is designed to protect.

Such is the case with Ashland’s flailing network, AFN.

The residents of Ashland did not ask for the city to invest the people’s money in such a high-risk industry as fiber networks. No referendum provided a mandate to the City Council to introduce a people's fiber network. And given the number of successful business owners living in Ashland, one would have to believe that someone offered keen insight to the councilors regarding the enormous risks individuals take when starting up any business.

But in this tiny liberal-minded village, where folks routinely ignore standard knowledge of the free market system, the idealistic goal of creating a citywide service for all residents seemed plausible and attainable.

Never mind the fact that 80 percent of all businesses fail in the first three years.

Never mind the fact that the City was venturing into a business world that is built upon a foundational principle that says competition brings out the best quality, the best products, and the best service … for the lowest prices for the consumer. Meanwhile, Ashland was creating what it perceived would be a monopoly.

Never mind the fact that individuals starting businesses will risk losing something, even perhaps all they have, in order to gain something greater. The City apparently never thought it might have to contend with losing anything.

The City seemingly had nothing to lose … except the people’s money.

In the idealistic mind of the socialist, the people own nothing that isn’t apportioned to them by the benevolent hand of the altruistic government. Therefore, under this mindset the money belonged to the City, apparently to use as it deemed necessary.

The City soon received a very harsh lesson from the dog-eat-dog partners of business and politics … two bedfellows you do not want to awaken.

Right from the beginning, Ashland was in trouble with its foray into a high tech world that changes literally every year. The board of directors for the company (councilors) knew nothing about the business they spent $5 million to create. The stockholders (residents) weren’t even fully aware that the city was about to take them down a rabbit hole, pouring good money after bad … hoping beyond all hope that it would emerge to see a colorful rainbow with a pot of gold.

The City painted a beautiful picture for the residents, who, like our idealistic-minded leaders, were happy to think that our community would be the very first in the state to become an example to all cities of why government should not ever adopt the mindset that the coffers over which it is entrusted to watch can be used at its discretion to invest in high-risk endeavors.

Still, for a while, there was hope …

But eventually, the City began to face reality.

Despite a gloomy projection, the City continued to paint the rosy picture. It maintained positive thoughts of pretty daisies and Lithia Park in the springtime. Even when the financial report indicated that the company had lost its business customers, and was sinking like a boat with a slow leak, the City put on a happy face and flatly denied anything was wrong. Even in the face of rising deficits, the city laid claim there was no fiscal impact.

Well, perhaps not immediately if we defer it to another fiscal year.

The City went from hopeful-happy-face to darn-it-denials.

Ashlandıs leaders, like all city governments that face difficult situations due to flawed decisions made by predecessors, went through the various stages of distress.

First they pretended all was well.

Then they spoke very calmly as they introduced a small problem, hoping it would not upset the residents too much.

Then they provided us with a magical bean that would make the problem go away if only we all would just believe in it. That bean only exacerbated the nausea spreading throughout the community at large as resident after resident regurgitated facts and figures (and "I told you so" advice) aimed in the direction of the council.

Finally, the councilors had to reveal the whole sad situation they faced. As the board of directors answering to shareholders who wanted a dividend, they found it difficult to request that every resident, whether subscribing or not to AFN, pitch in by donating $7.50 a month indefinitely ... or at least until hell froze over.

If Ashlanders had pitchforks and torches, they would have assembled with them on the steps of City Hall. As it were, they assembled amongst themselves in restaurants, bars and organizations within the community, using forks for salads and sipping wine by candlelight while cramming the pages of the Tidings with letters to the editor bemoaning the ill-fated AFN and the City's decision to lay it all at the feet of the forgiving taxpayer.

Meanwhile, the City pondered selling AFN and getting rid of the albatross hanging around its neck.

With white-knuckled determination, it appears the City has come full circle.

The residents didn’t want or need an AFN. Yet the City bought one.

The residents expressed displeasure at rapid growth. Yet the City encouraged it for the sustainability of AFN.

The residents said get rid of AFN in a poll that the City commissioned specifically to find out what the residents wanted. Yet the City kept the flailing network.

The City began losing tons of cash and went into a borrowing frenzy, first from itself, then outside sources … while maintaining a happy face. The residents agreed with the City to sell AFN.

The City looked into selling AFN but soon discovered that it was worth far less than the debt. So the City looked at the residents again.

The residents asked, "Wha choo looking at?"

The City then took its place on the Plaza with its hand out.

And now the City, which ignored the pleas of the residents for several years, is now in a position to beg those same residents to dump more of their hard-earned money into City coffers.

The residents are currently ignoring the City.

So, the City has threatened to turn off the lights.

And, just as in all socialistic governments, the people are yet again being ignored, which brings the City back to exactly what got it in this mess to begin with.

But the City always can turn out the lights and the heat. Winter's coming.

And there we have our lesson in socialism. Wielding the power to do as it pleases under the color of "good intentions" the government may, with impunity, ignore the people, dump our dough into dumb deals, and force us to capitulate to demands of reimbursement on an indefinite basis.

Meanwhile, the City is aware that in another seven years it will still be in the same place it is now ... yet continues to hope that we the people will trust in the wisdom of those leaders who are currently threatening to turn off our lights if we do not give them money to underwrite their debt.

In order to offer the residents of Ashland a modicum of encouragement, the City hopes to someday develop the technology to discover how many users it actually does service through AFN. And it promises to ask itself (after the fact) the relevant questions that every business owner asks him or herself before going into business ... can I make a profit doing this?

Of course, by asking relevant questions prior to making million-dollar decisions, the City will likely run the risk of engaging in capitalism. I hear thatıs a punishable crime here in Ashland.

Mike Green is an award-winning columnist and author of, "The WHOLE truth about the U.S. War on Terror: answers to every question you never knew to ask." (www.thetruthaboutterror.com)
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