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Re: Sigh said by joebarnhart:said by sonicmerlin:This is why we need one national agency that oversees all telecommunications infrastructure development. Oh yeah, that'd fix everything. More government, this time to dictate telecommunications. I guess everyone is really happy with the way FCC is using what little power they have, right? We should give them more power and control of everything? Gee, what could possibly go wrong with that! Why yes, I believe everyone who doesn't worship at the alter of a corporate, fascist government is indeed happy with the way the FCC has used its little power thus far to pressure the incumbents.
A lack of government oversight means oligopoly control of our infrastructure, draining wealth from our nation year after year. How many billions were drained by Verizon and AT&T over the last decade alone? | |
 joebarnhartPaxio evangelist
join:2005-12-15
Santa Clara, CA | said by sonicmerlin:A lack of government oversight means oligopoly control of our infrastructure, draining wealth from our nation year after year. How many billions were drained by Verizon and AT&T over the last decade alone? You omitted the fact that the reason the oligopoly even EXISTS is because of government meddling. The answer to government meddling is more government meddling? I reject that.
Governments do not create markets. They do not improve markets. They do not create goods and services. They regulate and distort markets. They erode competition.
Sometimes government meddling is needed. I wonder if distribution networks should be allowed to vertically integrate and be content owners too. I question if companies who refine crude oil into gasoline should be allowed to own the network of stations that sell the product. It creates bastions of non-competitiveness that form barriers to entry for a market and gives the company too much power to price their combined product at monopolistic prices.
But government control of a communications monopoly?!? If AT&T had not been broken up, the internet as it exists today would never have happened. VOIP would never have happened. We'd all be sitting around our 9600 baud modems dialing Compuserve from our overpriced POTS line. | |
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