Pork It Up: Net Neutrality Comes Back
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on January 16, 2009 at 2:34:19 PM
The new economic stimulus (which is a terrible idea by SPENDING instead of CUTTING to get out of a hole) will have loads of pork attached to it. Net neutrality makes a comeback. Government needs to step out of private matters. Do not give government control of internet use. Mark my words, too many people trust the government. I've ALWAYS said that we need smaller government and it looks like the next few years are going to make the government bigger than Bush did.
Stop giving the government more control over private business. The other problem is the riders that keep getting attached to bills. This should be illegal to do since it has nothing to do with the initial bill. There's a reason it is called pork. It is legal spam.
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The Bush administration has taken a dim view of Internet regulations in the form of Net neutrality rules, warning last year that they could "inefficiently skew investment, delay innovation, and diminish consumer welfare, and there is reason to believe that the kinds of broad marketplace restrictions proposed in the name of 'neutrality' would do just that, with respect to the Internet." A report from the Federal Trade Commission reached the same conclusion in 2007. In addition, a recent study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says that the absence of Net neutrality laws or similar federally mandated regulations has spurred telecommunications companies to invest heavily in infrastructure, and changing the rules "would have a devastating effect on the U.S. economy, investment, and innovation." Now, perhaps extensive Net neutrality regulations are wise. But enough people seem to have honest, deep-seated reservations about them to justify a sincere discussion of costs and benefits--rather than having the requirements stealthily injected into what supposed to be an emergency save-the-economy bill scheduled for a floor vote within a week or so.
Stop giving the government more control over private business. The other problem is the riders that keep getting attached to bills. This should be illegal to do since it has nothing to do with the initial bill. There's a reason it is called pork. It is legal spam.