I’m doing the inflation two-step to make ends meet. With the Affordable Connectivity Program set to expire, Congress is stepping on our toes.
I know all about working hard for what you want in life. I spent the majority of my adult life as a proud Navy wife. I’ve owned and operated my own business. I’ve raised five kids. Now, I’m 75 years old and retired, supporting myself and my two grandkids. I have lived the American dream. For people like me on a fixed income, money has become one step forward, two steps back. Any extra money we get, prices go right up. Unbelievably, Congress is about to end a program lowering costs for millions of us, making life that much more expensive.
I grew up in a family with an entrepreneurial spirit. Like any entrepreneur, you have to find ways to keep costs down to keep your business running. The Affordable Connectivity Program is a discount, but for families. The ACP helps more than 900,000 families across North Carolina afford internet access. I rely on the internet to run my household — from paying bills, making appointments and ensuring my grandkids can do their homework. The internet is essential.
My daughter lives nearby, receiving cancer treatment — she also relies on the ACP for communicating with her hospital and staying in touch with us. If the ACP expires, she’ll lose access to the internet entirely, which really worries me. My computer-whiz grandson wants to get a college scholarship, and he’s kept up great grades because of his computer access. Without the internet, how can he apply to colleges? Some schools don’t even accept paper applications anymore!
I’m a registered independent, and I’ve been telling fellow churchgoers that we need to consider the representatives who are willing to let the ACP expire next time we vote. Not one elected official in North Carolina has co-sponsored the ACP Extension Act, even though it’s a bipartisan bill that was introduced months ago. They need to act and do the right thing. If not, what do they recommend as the alternative? What will people do without internet access?
Sen. Tillis and Sen. Budd and the other representatives are sitting on their hands and not taking action to save the ACP. They just don’t seem to care. Our elected officials don’t think twice about internet access and what losing the ACP means for nearly 10% of North Carolinians. I have news for our elected officials — retired working people on a fixed income like me don’t have extra money laying around. You’d have to be crazy to take away a program that’s saving people money — but that’s what our politicians are doing by letting the ACP expire.
We all care about affordable internet because it’s how we stay connected. This is about 23 million Americans across the country who save money each month. I’ve worked hard my entire life and, at 75, I’m still working hard to support my family. Congress needs to get serious and save the ACP. It’s their turn to work hard for us!
— Kathleen Wain
Bryson City
Editor’s note: Wain reports being a member of the nonprofit WorkMoney.
