In a recent post about the debt crisis, NPR's Frank James wrote,"What Washington was worried about and what many Americans have been haunted by has seemed out of synch in recent weeks."
Indeed, throughout weeks of political posturing about the nation's debt ceiling, millions of Americans wondered when their representatives would get around to talking about the elephant in the room — people losing their jobs and an unemployment rate hovering near 10 percent.
Now, facing pressure from constituents, as well as the stock market's tumble in response to the nation's lowered credit rating, members of Congress are finally talking about getting people back to work and expanding the work force as a way to stave off a double-dip recession.
Given this political environment, you'd think politicians would want to keep far away from anything that smells of lost jobs.
But AT&T's merger with T-Mobile — which will likely give the pink slip to as many as 20,000 workers — must smell like roses. There seems to be no other explanation for why some members of Congress would embrace the deal.
Why, in this climate, would any member of Congress support a deal that is safe bet to put people out of work?
To answer that, it's worth taking a step back and looking at how AT&T conducts business.
Earlier this year, AT&T — the second biggest wireless company in the country — announced it was seeking to buy T-Mobile, the fourth largest carrier. Thanks to its low prices, diverse selection of phones and top-rated customer service, T-Mobile is popular with lower-income consumers, younger users and people in urban areas where its service is often rated above its competitors. Also, T-Mobile is the only national carrier besides AT&T that uses GSM technology, the standard used in almost every other country in the world.
In other words, T-Mobile represents something AT&T loathes: competition. Scooping it up would give AT&T a formidable advantage over Verizon, making AT&T the carrier with the most subscribers and the only national GSM carrier.
AT&T knew that its desire to take over a direct competitor would raise the eyebrows of regulators and Congress. That's why it's spent millions to spread falsehoods about the deal. Its lobbyists roam the halls of Washington telling policymakers that the merger will lead to high-speed broadband buildout, more jobs, and the end to AT&T's network congestion problems.
Meanwhile, AT&T contributes millions to members of Congress and to groups like GLAAD and the National Education Association, who in turn come out in favor of things like... AT&T's merger with T-Mobile. (GLAAD rescinded its endorsement earlier this summer after a backlash from supporters.)
Many of these officials and organization heads may know that AT&T is peddling, at best, half-truths. But AT&T has so completely worked its way into the economic structure of electoral politics and issue advocacy that many of its beneficiaries simply sign off on whatever the behemoth wants.
Which brings us back to jobs. AT&T and the labor unions that support this deal tell us that 20,000 new union jobs will be created if the merger goes through. That sounds great, until you discover that T-Mobile presently employs about 40,000 people. Do the simple math, and you realize that the only merger benefits for many of those currently working for T-Mobile will be unemployment benefits.
As the FCC, the Justice Department, Congress, and state officials continue to investigate AT&T's proposal, we must hang these job losses around the necks of anyone who supports this deal. As our country risks dipping into another recession — and despite all of the goodies AT&T lays out on the table — a job-killing merger is the last thing anyone should want to be associated with.
Follow Josh Levy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/levjoy
http://act2.freepress.net/sign/att_lies/?akid=2759.9761654.jMIT10&rd=1&t=2
Reference:
1. http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/11/07/28/att-america-let-us-take-over-and-we%E2%80%99ll-give-you-all-broadband
2. http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-To-Probe-ATT-Verizon-Wireless-104067
3. http://www.mobiledia.com/news/70077.html
That kind of move may be profitable to them but it's at no gain to the American people.
Don't like it? Lobby your Congresspersons to enforce regulations in order to ensure that markets remain competitive .
AT&T's own documents show that it will be investing $10 billion *less* in infrastructure if the merger goes through. And as its leaked filings to the FCC showed, AT&T knows it can build out LTE to 97% of the country for a fraction of this cost of this deal. And that's in addition to the LTE that Verizon is bringing to 98% by 2013.
Those people in rural areas will be served by two or more providers, without this merger. These are facts. Have you been following the FCC filings on this?
How does $10 billion less in investment translate to new jobs? How does sending $39 billion to Germany to buy T-Mobile -- and lay off half its workforce -- translate to new jobs?
I compared the coverage of AT&T and T-Mobile in my area. They provide essentially the same crappy coverage. Tell me again how this merger would benefit rural customers.