Wealthy suburban whites are first in line for high-speed Internet access. But you won't find this summary in the Federal Communications Commission's report last month on its first national survey of broadband services. You have to read between the lines.

The FCC identifies six groups who are at risk of "not having access to advanced services if deployment is left to market forces alone": rural, urban, low-income, minority, tribal area and U.S. territory citizens. I leave to you the steps that yield my opening statement. Q.E.D.

Unequal Internet access may be the most regressive force in the U.S. economy, even worse than the lottery tickets that are disproportionately purchased by low-income households. Internet access is eight times more common in households earning more than $75,000 a year than in households earning $10,000 to $15,000—and look at the perks that it brings. You get lower prices, fewer waiting lines when dealing with government agencies, and even de facto exemption from state and local sales taxes on many purchases.

Suppose the government started to offer "Platinum Citizen" status: a thousand-dollar initiation fee, plus $20 monthly dues, in return for the privileges just described. People would scream to high heaven.

But if the $1,000 goes to a PC retailer and the $20 a month goes to an ISP, then everything seems to be all right. We let people in low-income neighborhoods pay retail prices, plus sales tax, while Platinum Citizens with Internet accounts pay 70 cents on the dollar for comparable goods.

The president vetoed estate tax repeal as "too costly," but that tax raises only a few tens of billions a year—an amount that will soon be rivaled by e-tail sales tax evasion. Do you have a Platinum Citizen account?

Send your opinion of Platinum Citizen perks to peter_coffee@....