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Here comes Trouble

By
Real Estate Technology with Carmody and Associates LLC

The Obama Administration with little fanfare, through the Federal Communications Commission, announced today that they will move forward with a rulemaking proceeding to create formal net neutrality rules. 

HorsepuckeyOn the surface you might think that rules to prohibit internet providers from selectively blocking or slowing web content and applications – include mobile broadband providers – was a good thing. 

In my view it is not.  In fact it scares the Hell out of me.

Nobody has had any problem with the network providers doing any of these things.  It is just another situation in which the Federal is moving to take over another major segment of the economy.  The internet, like the economy has undergone amazing growth for 15 years (is that since Al Gore invented it?).  Market functions and entrepreneurial forces have driven this growth.  I see no good thing that can come out of government meddling and regulation. 

Don’t these people understand yet that when government picks the winners and losers in the marketplace, our capitalistic system is dead?

Don’t they realize when they screw (excuse the technical terminology) the secured bond holders at General Motors to benefit the unions in violation of law that they stop major investors from buying what used to be considered secured debt in major corporations?

When the rules that govern our economic markets and traditional mechanisms for doing business can be altered at the whim of the political leadership from either party, then you are destabilizing the process and private investors will not be able to invest with faith in the system. 

We are becomming a banana republic in an economic, if not a political, sense.  Long term planning is becoming impossible for investors or major corporations because the basic landscape and rules of debt and equity are becoming unpredictable.  And the cause is, in my view, is GOVERNMENT.

You may read some of the news articles today <here> and <here>.

In my view this is an answer to a question that nobody is asking.  But the precedent of advancing FCC regulation of the internet is a problem and will not end well. 

Another of our Freedoms started to die today.

 

 

Comments (5)

Mike Saunders
Retired - Athens, GA

Ted - this forced egalitarianism is going to mean that we all get equal service, mediocre. Net neutrality sounds good, in concept, but what it really means is that the kid next door that is sharing your bandwidth can suck it up by continually downloading movies, games, etc. Also, which providers will be expected to conform? Will it be just the major ISP's, like AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, etc., or, will it be the hotels, wireless hot spots, etc, that people might pay for access? That is one of the issues that I had with previous net-neutrality proposals, they were unlimited. Having been part of network management, design and development, I undersand the issues, and I doubt that any new regs that come out are going to be of any true benefit.

Sep 21, 2009 10:28 AM
Hugh Krone
Weichert Referral Associates - Hamburg, NJ
Realtor, Sussex County NJ

Meanwhile

The military want 40,000 more troops in Afghanistan, but the white house asks them to delay the request (Because we don't have a plan)

Mideast peace talks tuesday (But we don't have a policy on Iran)

The President is trying to destroy the CIA

Sep 21, 2009 11:22 AM
Ted Baker
Carmody and Associates LLC - Winter Haven, FL
MidFloridaMediation.com

Mike - you can't pass regulations to enforce freedom - kind of a logical disconnect there.  The proposals address a problem which does not, in my view, exist.  The problem is the FCC beginning any regulations at all in this field.  

Hugh - Meanwhile we have just had the highest number of casualties in Afghanistan (month of August) since we got there, presumably because we do not have enough troops available to the commanders.

The objective - stop the Taliban from re-establishing their centers of power - or we will lose the country again.  Mid-east peace talks - yah, right.  Another opportunity to throw Israel under the bus.

Re: the CiA - this is really bad news.  The CIA and the administration (Bush) obtained written opinions from the Justice Department in advance of creating the policies.  They have seriously suggested criminal charges against the DOJ attorneys who wrote the opinions.  The CIA field agents relied upon the DOJ opinions and the policies and are now potentially facing criminal prosecution.  This is ridiculous and very political, in my view.  It is one thing to disagree with a prior administration policy - but to seek to criminalize it is very problematic.  We are going to return to the glory days of the Church Committee (named for Senator Frank Church) in the seventies which dismantled our intelligence capabilities for a generation.  

Fasten your seat belt - it is going to be a bumpy ride

 

Sep 21, 2009 12:08 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Ted,

It looks like this administration took upon themselves to destabilize everything that was not and was working. The radicalism of this government is unbelievable. The sinister part of it is that people get used to anything, and if you disregards what they want and drag with the opposition and keep destroying, as long as you do piece here and piece there, you will not get an uprising.

talking about the  enemies, which enemy could hurt the economy in such a profound way, which enemy could start changing the fabric of the  country?

I was always saying that the danger comes from the inside more than from the outside. But I could not see that coming with such blatant force.

Sep 21, 2009 02:33 PM
Missy Caulk
Missy Caulk TEAM - Ann Arbor, MI
Savvy Realtor - Ann Arbor Real Estate

I found this quote this AM by Calvin Coolidge:

 

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” Calvin Coolidge.

We must press on...we can not give up speaking out. I fear for my country and my children and grandchildren, but the loss of freedom must not occur on our watch. I never thought I would be alive to see the assault on Liberty we are seeing today.

 

 

Sep 22, 2009 12:17 AM