Here is a strong article against Net Neutrality regulation. What are your thoughts on this?
http://hustlebear.com/2011/01/05/why-net-neutrality-regulation-is-the-path-to-ending-net-neutrality/
Against Net Neutrality Regulation
(13 posts)-
Posted 2 years ago #
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Fantastic read. I was actually for FCC regulating the internet to protect from companies screwing us but after reading this I was misinformed about the situation. Thanks for opening my eyes to the situation. +100 interwebz
Posted 2 years ago # -
Was that about Net Neutrality? It was hard to tell through all the Libertarian bullshit.
American Libertarians live in some sort of deluded isolated bubble where letting rich people have completely free reign to do whatever they want is the best way for things to be, and any Government that exists should exist solely to protect the rights of those rich people to do whatever they want, and any Government that does anything other than that is EVIL!
It's quite funny actually, the entire thing is a promotion piece for business over government. Unfortunately the shining pinnacle of business the Libertarians so revere (free-market economics) does not actually exist, and in all honesty, probably cannot. If you want to know why find any Libertarian rant about socialism (or communism, which are the same thing to most Libertarians) and replace the words socialism or communism with "free-market". The reasons are about the same.
Business will not self-regulate based on the wants or needs of the consumer. They will find the cheapest way to extract the most money. Net Neutrality is already under threat thanks to corporate greed. Bandwidth throttling and traffic shaping are already commonplace by many ISP's, a result of cramming more users onto networks than they can actually handle. It's cheaper to do a little traffic shaping here and there, limit bandwidth to a fraction of what you promised at point of sale rather than upgrade the network to increase capacity, you see? And of course the bill you pay is not reflective of the service you get, only on what was promised and never delivered.
They have a point about government regulation though. They get it wrong far too often. I believe this is down to the non-proportional nature of most government representation coupled with a lack of accountability that allows governments far too much room to bulldoze through legislation without any genuine public consensus.
Also the rise of 2-party systems from first past the post style representation can create monstrosities whom the majority of voters barely agree with, yet give remit to do what they want anyway...
Basically the system is fucked and the proposed alternative is just as ugly.
Posted 2 years ago # -
This "Net Neutrality" is nothing more than a disguise of underhanded "business speak" that will in fact set us back to the stone age!
Bandwidth usage in the USA has Exploded so fast that the companies, were not prepared. Instead of investing into infrastructure and growing their company, they sent 80% of their profits to pay for executive pay, perks, and bonuses.
We no longer had the bandwidth to handle the capacity of this growing market, and instead of doing the right thing of growing their company, they solve the problem by creating Tier pricing. For me, the Internet was too fast as deemed by them so they came to my house and installed a box on my electric pole to slow the internet down. If I wanted it faster, I needed to pay more and more for different types of packages, that still came with limitations and still was/is being slowed down on purpose!
http://ww2.cox.com//aboutus/policies/limitations.cox?campcode=classicpop_policy-limitations_0609So when a company/business tells you they are doing this to protect/maintain "Net Neutrality", you really need to read the fine print, because what they really are doing is setting up a model to help them maintain that 1% status quo, and yet again screw the customer.
The USA is at a HUGE Crossroad. What the 1% is doing to the rest of the 99% of us, is not sustainable. Unfortunately, they have learned nothing and continuing business as normal, and even with giant boulders of the economy falling into the abyss, they are not stopping!
Just think when China takes us over..Welcome to China 2, former Republic of the United States of America
Posted 2 years ago # -
"American Libertarians live in some sort of deluded isolated bubble where letting rich people have completely free reign to do whatever they want is the best way for things to be, and any Government that exists should exist solely to protect the rights of those rich people to do whatever they want, and any Government that does anything other than that is EVIL!"
Call em what ya like Freedom, but you just described the Republicans(GOP). And no I am not a fan either.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Why are Americans so scared of "Government"? they have more of a say over what their Government does than they do for multinational corporations, FFS.
Posted 2 years ago # -
OlderGamer, the Libertarians consider themselves to be what the Republican Party are supposed to be. They see little difference between the Dems and the Repubs in todays political climate and as such wouldn't thank you for the comparison.
The site is very much pro-Libertarian.
Some of their ideals are admirable, putting power in the hands of the people is a good ideal. However I think attaining this ideal through free-market economics is insane.
@Gheritt White, I don't blame Americans for their attitude to their government. The two party system gives them very little real choice or power. Most Americans vote against the party they least want in power as opposed to voting in a candidate they actually want. That's another positive thing the Libertarians espouse, vote for policies, not parties.
Alas nothing looks like it's going to break the status quo any time soon. The Dems and the GOP know that their best chance of staying in power lies with the current system, so they're unlikely to vote for any sort of change.
Posted 2 years ago # -
the article wasn't a defense of the companies or the wealthy, but a defense of a free market, which has served us very well so far.
advocates have been screaming about Net Neutrality now for years, with dire urgent warnings of impending doom from not regulating ISPs. these fears against business have shown themselves to be unfounded, as demonstrated in freedoms_stain's reply
Posted 2 years ago # -
"Why are Americans so scared of "Government"? they have more of a say over what their Government does than they do for multinational corporations, FFS"
Well we don't, really have as much control or influence as you might think.
Really it is about people making a lot of money off of the current system, and then doing whatever they can to keep that system in place. I am talking mostly about lobbiest and the corperate political strong arm manipulating the politicians into maintaining the status quo.
There are several "parties" on most ballets in most elections. However money buys TV/Radio/Print advertising and exposure. The average person can not compete on a financial level that it takes to get their message or even their name out there in front of voters. So the Dems try and change the way lobbiest laws work. They can't because they are blocked by the very same people that currently bennifit from the way things are now.
Just another buyout in corperate america. It happens in courtrooms, senete meeting, and has happened in the white house.
The way and reason the suits get away with it is largly american voter ignorance. I try and talk with a lot of folks my age, but when ever politics and issues come up I am amazed at their lack of information of the facts(not just facts as in the way I see things, but facts like people, places, dates - actual facts). They are wholey uninformed, but they can slam a liberal in the bat of an eye, and they vote Republican each and every time.
One of the biggest tools of keeping the public uninformed is of course the growth in Talk Radio. And of course Fox news lol. But serioursly what I mean is more the use of seemingly unbiased media. Of course that media is slanted as hell, and really doesn't report the news half as much as the news arcording to their own parties spin. Glenn Beck, Rush Limbough, and so so many others :(
Our country is broken and has been sold down the river. We outsource everything it seems. Our nations biggest retailer is a pipeline for China/thrid world products. Our Politicans are serving their own power/wealth and not the people that put them into office. Even the voting feels flawed to me, two of the last three presidential offices were filled by a man that LOST the nations popular vote(Bush, and we all saw how well that worked out).
The listof things wrong that need fixing is long, very long. However the way the country works, I doubt any good and worthy change will come along any time soon. Just more fat rich power hungry out of touch politicians selling the ignorant voters their twisted vision of the american dream.
Posted 2 years ago # -
+1000 Interwebz for OG.
You couldn't have worded it any better. Yeah, Its a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation here.
Posted 2 years ago # -
People in the USA having Control of their Country is an Illusion! All voting does is get you is Jury Duty!
I believe in the "popular" vote or the people vote, not the "electoral" vote or corporation vote. Heck Al Gore won the popular vote or people vote, but he lost the electoral vote, so Bush was elected. So tell me, when the People Vote for one thing, but the Status Quo vote another way, and the Status Quo wins, then how do The People win??
I would love to see the Electoral College disbanded completely and only the Popular Vote count. The Representatives in the Electoral College NEVER represent the people, but always the Status Quo!
Posted 2 years ago # -
In a free market we vote with our dollars. If a company isn't giving us a good deal for our money, it's much easier to sink it or go with an alternative, so the threat keeps companies producing value for us. As opposed to trying to affect change in the government.
Posted 2 years ago # -
That's right, in a "free" market you would. But it's not a free market. It's a Corporate market. And Corporations are very good at little practices like price fixing and other shady deals that limit choice to what they want to provide (usually the cheapest option they can get away with) at as inflated a price they can get away with.
Posted 2 years ago #
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