Thinking Clearly on the Role of Goverment...

Recently, the "government" (specifically the FCC and our current speech happy administration) declared 'Net Neutrality' helps the state "mandate" for increased bandwidth.  "Net Neutrality" is a nice term which masks nationalism, but really is a decree that if YOU build any infrastructure your competitors can use it at any price set by the government.  (wave good bye to incentives, and say hello to a new fleet of well paid lobbyists now landing inside the beltway).  I recently read a dim bulb from the LA Times (Hazlitt I believe) in a piece about "how government created the Internet" which, besides from being completely untrue and juvenile, was used to defend a claim that  "not everything goverment does is bad!"  How inspiring!

While the US goverment, that is DARPA (defense technology spending), gets credit for funding research that lead to the pioneering work by Dr. Len Kleinrock in wide network packet protocol, that was where the research grant left off.  When it comes to the Internetand all we use it for, it is a classic case of capitalism -- of innovation, copycats, efficiency improvement, competitive situations and oligopolies (mostly by delivering superior products) and most of all it is a case of progress created by capital seeking the profit motive.  No profit motive = no investment (of $ or talent) = no progress. 

I struggle why that is so hard to get for many.  However, MR, a well-known serial entrepreneur based in San Diego CA recently had the following post in an email thread which sums it up well, at least in the telecom industry....


"Just to comment on the "Obama mandate" of faster bandwidth comment. We're getting faster bandwidth every day along with faster processors, bigger storage, and better online services. There isn't a bandwidth provider who doesn't have a plan to dramatically increase bandwidth pipes. The free market is bringing this to us not a government mandate. The government will just slow down the process and make it more expensive and they surely don't deserve any of the credit for improvements in these areas."



"I know the free market and capitalism ain't fashionable but I hope people on this list have the intellectual independence to avoid the ridiculous sentiment that the government (which produces nothing) can improve the state of our nation if we only appoint a few hundred more czars who champion a few more laws declaring that everyone is a millionaire, gets 1GB net access to their home and has unlimited free health care. "


"-- MR"