St Mary's tax dollars at work?

[Wickedwrench]

Fast TRAC Program to Offer FREE HP Chromebooks for Eligible Community Members in St. Mary's County - Southern Maryland News Net

In an effort to advance equal access to technology for our residents, St. Mary’s County Government (SMCG) is excited to announce plans to distribute 4,500 HP Chromebooks for free to local households with an income at or below the national poverty level. Households participating in any of the...

smnewsnet.com

Doing the right thing or wealth redistribution?

 

[Tech]

Broken models from the school district?

 

[somdwatch]

If the GOP makes good on their work requirements for programs they could potentially wean themselves off the taxpayer's payroll!

 

[Clem72]

I like chromebooks in general. Fairly fast with cheap hardware, no real viruses to worry about, can use phone apps. But the HPs typically only get updates for a couple years and for most chromebooks they become e-waste afterwards (not everyone wants to or has the ability to install a different OS on them).

Given government contracting these are probably already end of life.

 

[vraiblonde]

Recap:

"We're giving laptops to the ghetto peeps so they can sell them for drugs. You lower-middle income types having a hard time, tough sh*t - you get to pay for it."

 

[OccamsRazor]

I don't mind this initiative. As long as the laptops are used for LEARNING purposes only (given to school-aged children in these homes) and are "locked down" like the laptops other children got for school work.
If they are just free laptops with no restrictions, then its a hard NO. I don't need to pay for some 23 year old high school drop out to surf porn all day.

 

[Wickedwrench]

Recap:

"We're giving laptops to the ghetto peeps so they can sell them for drugs. You lower-middle income types having a hard time, tough sh*t - you get to pay for it."

You just perfectly phrased what most of us were thinking. They won't even have to rob WalMart to get their free laptop.

 

[TPD]

Government needs a hard reset to get back to the basics - public safety, roads, and education. That last one is debatable though.

 

[Paul Wu]

Government needs a hard reset to get back to the basics - public safety, roads, and education. That last one is debatable though.

Well, run for an office then and make a change?

 

[TPD]

Well, run for an office then and make a change?

Have thought about it many times but my wife told me years ago - choose her or political office, I can’t have both. I chose my wife.

 

[Gilligan]

If they are just free laptops with no restrictions, then its a hard NO. I don't need to pay for some 23 year old high school drop out to surf porn all day.

Seriously. Nobody else helps pay for me to surf porn all day.

 

[mitzi]

Another waste of money. The giant duck.

St. Mary's County Times Newspaper

St. Mary's County Times Newspaper, Hollywood, MD. 5,179 likes · 57 talking about this. The County Times is a locally owned and operated newspaper that serves the St. Mary's County, Maryland area.

www.facebook.com

 

[Gilligan]

Another waste of money. The giant duck.

St. Mary's County Times Newspaper

St. Mary's County Times Newspaper, Hollywood, MD. 5,179 likes · 57 talking about this. The County Times is a locally owned and operated newspaper that serves the St. Mary's County, Maryland area.

www.facebook.com

" I canaardly weight to see that huge duck!!": Said nobody I've ever known.

 

[RoseRed]

A friend of mine posted, RELEASE THE QUACKKEN!

 

[Clem72]

Government needs a hard reset to get back to the basics - public safety, roads, and education. That last one is debatable though.

And taking kids to the super bowl, because that's educational or something.

 

[kom526]

Way down in the fine print:

This initiative is part of the Fast TRAC program and is funded by the Connected Devices Grant from the Maryland Office of Statewide Broadband. SMCG is working to Fast TRAC our citizens on the information highway through:

• Training – Provided by the University of Maryland Extension Office.
• Resources – 4,500 HP Chromebooks to be distributed in St. Mary’s County.
• Affordability – Assistance programs to help pay for internet service or technology needs.
• Connectivity – Assistance getting broadband connectivity to your home.

Just another part of statewide broadband expansion.

 

[Merlin99]

" I canaardly weight to see that huge duck!!": Said nobody I've ever known.

Any bets on how long it takes for the first bullet hole? I'm taking within the first hour of showing up.

 

[DannyMotorcycle]

While i'm against the redistribution of wealth of course.. chromebooks are cheap and i think it's a good idea.. I'd rather poor kids learn computers and be home and be online, instead of out running the street doing ignorant things.. I think they'd less likely become criminals.. Give them access to a wealth of educational material.. at worse , i'd rather they be in grandma's basement online their whole life than being out in the streets bothering decent folks.. let them be incels at home and not out in the streets babies making babies.. probably not what the democrats intended but sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture.

 

[luvmygdaughters]

Seriously. Nobody else helps pay for me to surf porn all day.

 

[SamSpade]

How much crack does a pawned Chromebook buy?