Once upon a time when I was a Progressive, I changed my long distance. Oops. Let me explain to the younger folks. Once upon a time, there were these things called RBOCs and... oh nevermind. Well, now that I think about it, one of the most successful deals in deregulation and re-regulation has been because of a couple successive brilliant directors of the FCC, namely Hunt, Kennard and Powell (yeah and who will Obama appoint?) are reasons we don't have taxes on the Internet. Anyway...
You used to have to choose your long-distance provider because there was a dumb law that local phone companies couldn't provide long distance (whenever you had to dial an area code) and vice-versa, but it was different for cable TV but cable TV couldn't do digital or voice or any of the cool things we have now. And this was back in 1994. So I chose a company called Working Assets, because they were, in a word 'correct'.
Working Assets used recycled paper to mail you your phone bill. Er, you long-distance phone bill. And, since they were 'correct' they weren't paying executives huge salaries and so they could pass the savings on to you, the consumer. I might have saved money - I don't remember. My long distance calls might have been just as good as MCI (remember them), but I don't remember. But I do remember that sense of self-righteous superiority I got from this type of moral conspicuous consumption. Note to self, 'moral conspicuous consumption' is great, use it again.
Well Working Assets is in the news again. Why? Because I just mentioned them on my blog, and I probably have more subscribers than they do. Seriously, they have contributed in over two decades, 60 million dollars to progressive causes, thus illustrating the power of non-governmental people power. Sixty million bucks?! That something like what Starbucks buys in paper cups every month, or some other unthinkably trivial expense, like the cumulative value of the houses my kids walk past on the way to school in the morning. Ok all three of my kids in a week - real estate aint what it used to be.
Still, that's a remarkably small number and Working Assets used to be a remarkably cool company. But I guess this level of success gives us all a reason to better understand how the Progressive agenda desperately needs politicians at the Federal trough where you can get 60 million on an annual basis without breaking a sweat.
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