how exactly do non-millionaire people change anything at a state level
You could start at the city level. Depending on where you are, it could be either city, county or some other governmental sector that signs the contracts with the cable companies in compliance with 542(f) of the Communications Act which allows the municipality to charge the cable provider a fee which is essentially rent for the space the company uses to lay and service their lines. Most of these contracts have an exclusivity clause that grants the company an effective local monopoly.
You can work with your fellow constituents to get the village, town, parish, whatever to abolish the exclusivity arrangement when the contract is due for renewal. On the state or federal level it seems that a tweak to some legislation that prohibits or nullifies exclusivity clauses could be in order. That way if another cable company wanted to compete in an area, they could. It would certainly improve the situation for most people if they were given alternatives between the jitter that seems to be DSL and the stop motion that is cable when the local school lets out.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
