Where, oh where, have you gone, John Kennedy?

Once upon a time, and within living memory, a new president urged Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” These days, with that president’s daughter apparently bound for a seat in the U.S. Senate, the question is reversed. In many ways, people want to know only what their government can do for them.

Consider broadband connections.

“Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online,” President-elect Barack Obama announced recently. “That’s how we’ll strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world.” Perhaps. But if high-speed Internet connections were that important, it stands to reason that people would be willing to pay for them. Instead, there’s a press to have the federal government do that for us.

As The Washington Post reported on Dec. 17, that’s likely to set off a lobbying race for federal largesse. The Telecommunications Industry Association wants massive tax breaks and $25 billion in grants to companies that build networks in hard-to-reach areas.

The Communications Workers of America also wants tax breaks, but a different sort, ones that “would allow network operators to expense, through tax deductions, a larger portion of their broadband deployment costs right away,” the paper reports. And so forth.

In short, Obama’s call for more broadband hasn’t spurred companies to go out and build. It’s spurred lobbyists to go out and demand the government give them money to go out and build.

Oh, and by the way, attempts to deliver wireless broadband to particular areas have failed in many cities, including Arlington, Virginia and Philadelphia. But that’s no reason not to launch a similar project on a national basis, is it?

While we’re on the subject of federal infrastructure projects, it’s worth noting that telecom executives aren’t the only ones drooling over the prospect. So are mayors. Continued...