Bernie Sanders And Elizabeth Warren May Have Just Saved Consumers $14 Billion

[Jarqui]

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- Cable customers who are tired of paying through the nose to rent set-top boxes are about to see some serious savings, thanks to a new proposal from the Federal Communications Commission.

The new regulation would open up the set-top box market to consumer choice so that customers could rent or buy devices from providers other than their cable companies. About 99 percent of cable customers currently rent set-top boxes from their cable company. According to a survey commissioned by Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), cable customers pay an average of $232 a year for those rentals -- a $20 billion market annually, just for set-top box rentals.
...
Cable companies and their lobbyists are furious about the plan, which the commission is set to vote on Feb. 18. But the proposal didn't emerge from a vacuum. Liberal senators have been pressuring the FCC to act on cable "monopolies" for months. In July, current Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) organized a letter calling on the agency to collect a host of consumer pricing information from cable companies -- a move designed to show that in many regions of the country, households pay arbitrarily high prices due to a lack of other cable options. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Markey and Blumenthal all signed on to the letter.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fcc-proposal-cable-tv-boxes_us_56aa781ae4b05e4e3703b26e

---

Way to go Bernie and Elizabeth!! (though we have to wait for Feb 18th vote to really celebrate)

[jfern]

1. Oh sure, but just think if Hillary had sent a tweet telling them to "cut it out"

[Divernan]

4. Yup. That never worked with Bill either!

[retrowire]

2. And if Bernie is elected president,

I think we can look to much more of this!

[elmac]

5. Yep, we need open access to cable

like they have in Europe, competition is the only answer.

[LittleGirl]

43. I wish

we have two providers at our location in Europe and they may be cheaper than the states but they all suck.

[nxylas]

52. Virgin Media has a virtual monopoly here in the UK

I think they have something like 95% of the cable market.

[LittleGirl]

53. Thought so. n/t

[George II]

21. Too bad it wasn't initiated by Sanders or Warren, but by Blumenthal and Markey.

Funny how that always works for Sanders - let others do the work and then take credit for it.

Follower, not a leader.

[draa]

26. And yet your example of a leader

got almost 5000 American soldiers killed. Hmmm...

[George II]

29. How do you figure that? I think you should review history again, sir......

...and I don't know what that has to do with cable television. Care to explain?

[draa]

32. If you support Clinton then you'd better check history.

You're the one spouting off about leadership. As far as a cable company who gives a shit. It has nothing to do with leadership but even if it did Clinton's not fit to run one of those either.

She supported the Iraq War with Bush and Cheney. There's no running from that. And no, as a veteran myself an apology means shit as far as what she voted for. She will still have to answer for that.

[George II]

33. Once again, nothing to do with the subject at hand. But Sanders took the easy way out....

.....as demonstrated by his votes since the start of the Iraq war, he was "against" it, yet he voted consistently with the republicans to fund that war. Yeah, I know the litany is that "well, we had to support the troops over there", but if we didn't fund the war then the troops would have been withdrawn.

So, how do you draw the connection between cable television set top boxes and the war in Iraq? Does Comcast have the Baghdad cable television franchise?

[draa]

35. In the discussion we're currently in you had no point.

Even the Blumenthal/Mularkey comment you made was meant to be an insult to Sanders. Then you mentioned leadership, not me.

Your comment below, at 8:54pm would have been a good discussion. Instead you spouted something about Sanders' leadership like Clinton's is somehow better. It's not and Clinton's vote for the Iraq War proves it.

You'll deny and put another up comment trying to tell me why. It doesn't matter so save your time. I didn't read the one I'm replying to because I don't fucking care. I've heard it all and it's still doesn't change my mind or her vote. eom

[George II]

36. The subject initiative is Blumenthal's and Markey's*. Attributing it to Sanders "had no point"....

....

*By the way, it's MARKEY, no your blatantly offensive "Mularkey"! In a nutshell, that says a lot. Thanks for playing tonight.

[Jenny_92808]

59. Leave

You are so wrong it makes me wonder if you are trolling.

[George II]

64. Excuse me?

[SunSeeker]

34. LOL. Thanks for the facts. nt

[rhett o rick]

55. When HRC had her chance to be a leader she failed terribly. When George Bush ask her to FOLLOW him

into Iraq, she said sure George and I will give a speech to get other Democrats to ditch their principles and FOLLOW you Republicons.

[George II]

61. What does that have to do with cable television boxes?

[rhett o rick]

67. Maybe if I speak slower you will understand. You disparaged Sen Sanders for not being a leader

and I just wanted to point out that your idol didn't lead when the chips were down. She acquiesced to the worst President we've ever had.

[George II]

68. Speak (or type) as slowly as you'd like. I didn't "disparage" Sanders, I pointed out the truth.

And I don't have "idols" in politics, I have candidates who I believe will do better jobs than others. Those for whom I feel that way have proven their capabilities over the years.

Now, can we get back to cable boxes?

[rhett o rick]

56. Are you disparaging Elizabeth Warren as well as Sanders? nm

[George II]

62. I'm giving credit where credit is due - to the two Senators who really got this started....

....Senators Blumenthal and Markey.

I like Warren a lot, and I think she'll be a great asset in President Clinton's cabinet.

[rhett o rick]

66. No you are not. You disparage Sanders for not "leading" but give Warren a pass.

I doubt that Senator Warren will be bought by the Wealthy 1% that you worship.

[George II]

69. And where do you get the idea that I "worship" the wealthy 1%? Remember, if the candidate that....

....you worship were to win the Presidency, he would be instantly catapulted into the 1% himself. Unless, of course, he does the job without pay.

[rhett o rick]

70. You need to check your math. Your idol is worth $50,000,000. She accumulated that

in less than 15 years. What a slap in the face of honest, hard working Americans struggling to make ends meet. Sanders will never reach that level of wealth.

[George II]

71. Again with the "idol" stuff. If nothing else, you are persistent!

[rhett o rick]

72. It's the only reason I can think of for people to choose to side with her and Goldman-Sachs

over the 99%. Clinton is clearly embroiled in the corrupt Big Money controlled government. She has earned (?) 50 million dollars by working the system, playing the game. She is not the one to lead us out of this horrendous wealth hole that she pretends. There is nothing to stop the financial institutions from having another crash. They jointly made 5 trillion dollars the last time and I don't think Clinton wants to reel them in. Why should she. She and Bill have gotten enormous wealth from this culture.

[George II]

73. You're the person who claimed my $700 a week bank-teller sister was a "bankster", so....

.....I'm never surprised with anything you say anymore.

If only you worked as hard for your candidate as you do insulting DUers, perhaps Sanders would have a chance in these primaries.

[rhett o rick]

74. I never claimed such a thing. I was referring to those execs that get huge bonus

and are glad to share them with politicians. Does your sister even work for Goldman-Sachs?

I am working very hard for Sanders, handing out flyers, making calls and going door to door. I see this as a do or die campaign. Let the Conservative Wing of our Party continue the status quo will bring more deaths from poverty, unfair incarceration, and killings in the streets. If I insult fellow Democrats it's because I am frustrated that Democrats would choose Goldman-Sachs over helping the poor. Don't you understand if we keep the status quo and let Goldman-Sachs have influence in the WH that things will continue to get worse? H. Clinton is very invested in accumulating massive wealth and that doesn't coincide with helping the poor, working and middle classes. She doesn't want to raise the cap on SS, she doesn't want to help college students in debt, she doesn't want to stop fracking, didn't want same sex marriage until pushed into it, did want the TPP until she didn't.

This is a class war and H. Clinton with her $50,000,000 and close relationship with Goldman-Sachs, isn't on our side.

[George II]

75. Yes you did, when I pointed out how many people in New York have "ties" to banks simply because...

...it's such a huge industry in NY, and just about every family has at least one member who at one time worked for a bank.

I mentioned that several family members of mine worked for banks at less than "executive" positions, including my sister who was a teller and myself who worked as a computer operator in a bank data center (that's what they were called back in the 1980s) for a cople of years. You said I must be proud of my "family of banksters".

Insulting DUers that you don't know and never met seems to be something you do often (you even admit it above)

[rhett o rick]

76. You are clearly thinking of someone else. nm

[George II]

79. No, when someone say something that offensive (and false) about a person's family, I remember.

[Jenny_92808]

60. Try again

"Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) organized a letter calling on the agency to collect a host of consumer pricing information from cable companies -- a move designed to show that in many regions of the country, households pay arbitrarily high prices due to a lack of other cable options. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Markey and Blumenthal all signed on to the letter."

[George II]

63. Selective excerpt....how about the rest of the article? Here:

"According to a survey commissioned by Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), cable customers pay an average of $232 a year for those rentals -- a $20 billion market annually, just for set-top box rentals."

Then your excerpt, where Sanders followed Markey's and Blumenthal's lead, which went nowhere. Resulting in this:

"After Markey and Blumenthal did their own pricing survey in July, they organized another letter to the FCC in November, specifically targeting set-top boxes. Sanders, Warren and Franken all signed on, as did Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Corey Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). "

So you see, Markey and Blumenthal got the ball rolling, Sanders ran with the ball but sadly fumbled it, causing Blumenthal and Markey to pick up the ball and continue the effort.

I read the ENTIRE article.

[Unknown Beatle]

45. Hey, wait a minute,

it's not if Bernie is elected president, it's when Bernie is elected president.

[retrowire]

46. You right! nt

[elmac]

3. Good for consumers

& good for box makers. Another chip from the cable monopolies.

[Jackilope]

6. $$ shelled out for cable is outrageous as it is

Where I live there is very little competition. One could drop cable for Direct or Dish, but from what I've heard, they start you out with a low rate for a few years then increase the price.

[jfern]

8. There's really basically no competition if you want anything faster than 20 Mbps down

[christx30]

12. And they lock you into a contract

so it costs like $200 to switch to another provider if you aren't happy. And they charge for trouble calls.

[Unknown Beatle]

47. You're right about what you write.

I have Direct TV, and I had to sign a two year contract. The first year it's very affordable, but the second year, which I'm currently on, is very expensive. They nickle and dime you for everything, plus the rentals for the set top boxes and it ballooned to a little over a hundred bucks a month, and my wife and I only watch about ten channels regularly.

If this passes into law, then by all means, I would continue with one of the dish or the only cable company in town. It would be very affordable then.

[George II]

7. Amazing projection!

From the article, it was Senators Markey and Blumenthal who commissioned the survey and got this going.

As usual, coat-tailing someone else's work, Sanders jumped on it and "organized" a letter which was signed by him, Markey, Blumenthal, Franken, and Warren. That letter merely called for the FCC to gather pricing information. Of course he just asked the FCC to gather information, he did nothing substantive.

And, you conveniently failed to post this excerpt from the article, which is what is REALLY prompting the FCC to act further:

"After Markey and Blumenthal did their own pricing survey in July, they organized another letter to the FCC in November, specifically targeting set-top boxes. Sanders, Warren and Franken all signed on, as did Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Corey Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)."

So why is it that only Sanders and Warren get credit for this?

Blumenthal is my Senator, and he gets ALL the credit for anything that is accomplished. Sanders, in both cases, is simply following Blumenthal's and Markey's lead and piggy-backing on their work. Once again, Sanders demonstrates that he's a follower, not a leader.

[7962]

11. It appears he shouldnt count on your vote

[George II]

14. Well, if he had a record of accomplishment I might have considered him, but he doesn't.

[Duval]

23. Ya' think? eom

[FreedomRain]

57. you cant get mad at someone for signing on to a good idea

what's the point of that?

Give credit to those 2 that started it, give credit to the rest who used their power and influence to get it done.

[George II]

65. Yes, he signed on to a good idea (which wasn't his in the first place), his effort failed, so....

....the original two Senators had to pursue it further to get any action from the FCC.

[George II]

81. That's what I've done - I give credit to Blumenthal and Markey for getting it started....

...and again to Blumenthal and Markey for keeping it going after Sanders' effort stalled.

[rhett o rick]

77. So I assume you think that Sen Warren is also a follower and not a leader. nm

[George II]

80. Elizabeth Warren isn't running for President by taking credit for the efforts....

....of everyone around here over the decades.

[rhett o rick]

82. I asked about leadership and you carefully avoided the question. You are quick to disparage

Sen Sanders but carefully don't hold Sen Warren to the same standard.

[Hoyt]

9. Another Obama appointee does the right thing as he did with net neutrality.

[FlatBaroque]

10. The thought of E Warren and Bernie working in tandem

sends chills ...

[George II]

13. Too bad it was Blumenthal and Markey who did all the work.

[blackspade]

15. This would potentially result in a tremendous amount of savings.

I have thus far refused to 'upgrade' to a DVR to the tune of $10 extra a month.
$6/mo is plenty for the one I already have.

[joshcryer]

16. No love for Wheeler?

[onehandle]

17. Hillary has been working with Senator Sanders and Senator Warren for years.

It's going to be great when President Hillary Clinton continues that work with them.

[Jarqui]

18. She has indeed

Do we get to look forward to more of that with President Hillary?

They're going to be knocking heads over Wall Street who have bought Hillary until at least 2020.

No Glass-Steagall for Elizabeth and Bernie. Hillary is against that.

But if Bernie is president, he and Elizabeth are on the same page for bankruptcy, Glass-Steagall, too -big-to-fail and Wall Street reform.

Like the top of this thread, they have proven to work together well. No problems.

[wildbilln864]

20. thank you! n/t

[George II]

22. What/where was Elizabeth Warren in 2004?

[Jarqui]

27. She became a lawyer and professor that

started to get into bankruptcy in the 80s. She did some advisory stuff in the 90s on bankruptcy. In the mid 90s, she wound up at Harvard law school until she became a senator in 2012. She started to get published and well known. She was trying to fight the passage of that bankruptcy bill in 2004 in an activist role (I think - I'm not positive on all of the above - it's the gist).

[George II]

31. In 2004 she was only a few years removed from being a republican. Talk about "camp weathervane"!!!!

[napi21]

28. Teaching at the College I presume. She wasn't a Senator for sure! nt

[Duval]

24. Thanks Jarqui.

[pattymcq]

19. 👍

[Duval]

25. Bernie and Elizabeth make a winning pair.

[fbc]

30. That explains why Comcast is pouring so much money into Clinton's campaign.

[senz]

38. Yep. Clinton represents the oligarchs --

everything Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders rail against.

[TexasBushwhacker]

37. I remember having to rent our PHONE n/t

[mrmpa]

44. I do too.............

we had two phones in the house. One in the kitchen and one in my parents bedroom. Just about the day you didn't have to rent it anymore, my folks bought 2 new phones and installed them. The rented ones were returned to the phone company.

[Mr. Evil]

39. This is so such a good thing!

[senz]

40. Bernie got the entire process started. Good show of leadership! Great results!

[WillyT]

41. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[avaistheone1]

42. Just another amazing day at the office for Bernie and Elizabeth.

They are both awesome. Truly.

[mountain grammy]

48. I don't care about a VP pick from a different region.

I think a Sanders/Warren ticket is a sure winner.

[bigbrother05]

50. He's from Brooklyn, she's from OKC, so problem solved

[mountain grammy]

51. Yep, forgot about that.. Problem solved.

[bigbrother05]

49. Imagine owing a box that worked with any cable/satellite system

that could be upgraded or used apps to improve. Maybe have built in wifi to access Netflix, etc and a DVR function that would let you chose or enhance your storage capacity. Can see Roku making a big move in this area as well as the Google/Amazon/Apple/MS folks. Would be nice to have capability to plug in added hard drives or wireless to a personal cloud server.

Downloading content off cycle for later viewing or local sharing would be great as well and help level internet loads.

[ChiciB1]

54. Unfortunately This Is A HUGE Reason Why TPTB

are fighting so hard to keep Bernie from becoming POTUS! You try to make people understand this kind of power and WHY we need to fight the STATUS QUO, of which Hillary is entrenched with, and many here just don't understand this. Or, for whatever other reason they have to look the other way about this, it baffles me.

So many things are in the hands of these Corporations and Wall Street, you can list a long list, but POWER is determined to keep POWER. We have an opening to begin to have our voices heard and let them know that running a country that's basically already an Oligarchy that we've had ENOUGH!

[Dont call me Shirley]

58. Cable, Internet and phone prices need to go down, while quality needs to go up. Let's join the rest

of the developed world, US.

[Politicub]

78. Good proposal

But the people using this as an opportunity to shit on Hillary take away from the positive aspects of it.