Taxes for Everyone

[mediahasyou]

Principles for sound Internet policy: Internet for Everyone
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/10/01/principles-for-sound.html

The Internet For Everyone project is a set of motherhood-grade principles for Internet access in the US; they're collecting signatories to present to Congress:

Access: Every home, business and civic institution in America must have access to a high-speed, world-class communications infrastructure.

Choice: Every consumer must enjoy real competition in lawful online content as well as among high-speed Internet providers to achieve lower prices and higher speeds.

Openness: Every Internet user should have the right to freedom of speech and commerce online in an open market without gatekeepers or discrimination.

Innovation : The Internet should continue to create good jobs, foster entrepreneurship, spread new ideas and serve as a leading engine of economic growth.


Are you happy yet?

[Malakai]

I'm totally down for free speech and rights for all accessing the net, but not for gov mandating types of connections ect.

Let the markets work! Markets > gov every time

[mudhoney]

Sounds like they should drop this and support http://www.freetheairwaves.com/

[Fox McCloud]

Access: Every home, business and civic institution in America must have access to a high-speed, world-class communications infrastructure.

This would require massive amounts of tax money to do; in most of the countries where the government tries this there is a very high population density, so a little bit of money goes a long ways....however, in the US where some people live over 5 miles from town, it's not so great...and it could cost literally tens of thousands of dollars to connect just one person to the 'net.

Also, how are they going to determine who will serve an area? By giving funding to just "A" and not "B", they could end up further establishing a telco/cableco monopoly in the area.

Then there's the whole thing of taxation being theft.


Choice: Every consumer must enjoy real competition in lawful online content as well as among high-speed Internet providers to achieve lower prices and higher speeds.

Oh boy...here we go; more regulation. The only reason you're going to destroy the telco and cableco monopolies is deregulation. Most of the cable companies and telephone companies have a total or near total monopoly on an area because of the government only allowing one in the area (ever notice that there's rarely more than one POTS provider in the same geographic area?)

If we de-regulate, we'll have multiple phone companies and cableco's in the same region, which will generate all those things they're talking about....all without a tax-payer cent being spent and no further expansion of government.


Openness: Every Internet user should have the right to freedom of speech and commerce online in an open market without gatekeepers or discrimination.

Those "gatekeepers" are private-property owners, therefore they can do whatever they want with their property...competition will cause the telco's and cableco's to be very very lenient on regulation of speech or anything else on the 'net, with exception to SPAM, viruses, and the like.


Innovation : The Internet should continue to create good jobs, foster entrepreneurship, spread new ideas and serve as a leading engine of economic growth.

I agree, but having the government subsidize the 'net is not the way to achieve this end....the end does not justify the means.



Are you happy yet?

Nope :(