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JPLPremium
join:2007-04-04
Downingtown, PA
kudos:1 | Couple points from a staunch conservative No, I'm not the most enthusiastic McCain supporter, but to be honest, despite some of the statements in the piece, I'm not 'terrified' by these proposals. First there's this:
"I'm not sure that network neutrality is regulation, but ok."
Um... no... reread the statement to which this refers. It just says taht McCain would be opposed to such regulation. Nowhere does it say that he thinks this is current regulation. I can say I'm opposed to socialized medicine (which I am) - does that mean that we already have universal healthcare? No. It just means, as a policy, I'm opposed to such a scheme. The prior statement just says that McCain is opposed to net neutrality as being enforced by regulation. So am I.
As far as this being anethema to conservatives, let's get a grip here. This sounds very much like Eisenhower's push to create an interstate highway system. Yes, I'm a staunch conservative, but I also recognize that there are certain things that only the government can do. Remember that whole regulating interstate commerse thing in that document - what was it called again??? Oh yeah! The Constitution! That is a legitimate role of the federal government. This, in my mind, is an example of that.
Plus McCain's proposal at least pulls in private industry to assist in this. If this were a liberal push, you would have the creation of a brand new department, with several thousand employees, coordinating the whole mess, and making it into a catastrophic monster.
Again as a conservative, I can't be the only one who recognizes the fact that nationwide broadband would be a tremendous economic boon to the US. Again, think what the interstate highway system did for commerce in this country. Would our economy be a fraction of the size it is today were it not for the ability to truck goods quickly and cheeply around the country? I don't think so. | |
jaminus
join:2004-10-14
Arlington, VA | I don't doubt that nationwide broadband would bring huge economic benefits...but it'd also cost a heck of a lot, and it's not clear if spending money to bring broadband to areas deemed unprofitable by companies is the best use of taxpayer funds. This is especially true considering that, according to Pew reports, over one in five Americans who have access to competitively priced broadband and can afford it simply choose to spend their money on other things. I don't get it myself, but some people like shopping the old-fashioned way and communicating via phone/mail. | | |
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JPLPremium
join:2007-04-04
Downingtown, PA
kudos:1 | said by jaminus:I don't doubt that nationwide broadband would bring huge economic benefits...but it'd also cost a heck of a lot, and it's not clear if spending money to bring broadband to areas deemed unprofitable by companies is the best use of taxpayer funds. This is especially true considering that, according to Pew reports, over one in five Americans who have access to competitively priced broadband and can afford it simply choose to spend their money on other things. I don't get it myself, but some people like shopping the old-fashioned way and communicating via phone/mail. I don't disagree that this may not be the best use of tax dollars. I was simply pointing out, despite the tenor of this write-up, I'm not 'terrified' by the notion of the government doing this. I don't think it's illegitimate for them to do it. Not that I WANT them doing it, but it's very much (in my mind, and I think this is where McCain is coming from with this) along the lines of what Eisenhower did with the creation of the interstate highway system. | |
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