Goveernment good for small business, high speed brodband access edition.

Among the least considered implications of the vaunted transition to the "Information Economy," poor families may lack the ability to pay for expensive internet access, much less access bundled with expensive cable tv music packages.

[The ARRA broadband programs weren't aimed specifically at small businesses, but they have benefitted, the GAO report said. Agency investigators interviewed 27 small-business representatives in communities with government-funded broadband projects, and 20 of them reported higher speeds, the report said.

Eighteen of the 27 small businesses reported more reliable broadband service since the government funded networks were deployed, with many government-funded projects using fiber optic infrastructure. "These small businesses said they experience less network downtime and no significant slowdowns in speed at points in the day when usage increased," the report said.]   emphasis added

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9246864/Gov_t_funded_broadband_benefits_small_businesses

So in this aspect decidedly un-Reaganesque trickle down theory has benefits for the commonweal.