Greedy clicks

Wed, 02 Feb 2000 17:00:00 +0000

What would politics be without its déjà vu delights? An initiative hinted at in President Clinton's State of the Union speech last week, and unveiled more fully this week, proposes a classic sleight of hand. The concept involves a five-year federal subsidy to help the nation's poor get online. Dubbed "ClickStart," it's supposed to solve a problem that has almost become a cliché: the growing "digital divide" between rich and poor, most pronounced between whites and nonwhites. But this has the feel of one of those well-meaning partnerships with industry in which the government gives away the store.

The initial sum is paltry enough -- $50 million, a mere asterisk in the budget of the Commerce Department, which would administer ClickStart. But the program is likely to grow substantially. Its backers hope to eventually reach all 9 million households on the food-stamp rolls. This first $50 million will cover only 300,000 of them.

Salon.com > Todd Oppenheimer

Greedy clicks