Years ago a friend described a Democratic party precinct meeting he attended. He told how the group was fairly united about the headline topics. But truck deregulation was on the list, and the attendees were asking each other, "what's the liberal position on that?" They didn't know much about the trucking industry, but they knew they wanted to have the "liberal position" on it.
The brouhaha about Net Neutrality reminds me of that. A weekend article in the Wall Street Journal was about an interview with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai available at Why ‘Net Neutrality’ Drives the Left Crazy behind the paywall.
There he says that radical leftists have invaded the neighborhood where he lives, hanging pamphlets on doorknobs with his photo asking "have you seen this man," and taking photos of the inside of his house through the windows. Harassment is ordinary lefty behavior these days.
All this is over "Net Neutrality" which is a euphemism for government control of the internet, something which the protesters probably know little about. But they were inspired by a comic named John Oliver who beseeched his viewers to go activist against Mr. Pai.
Too bad they can't appreciate the advantages of free markets and instead think they want the internet regulated like a utility.
An editorial at Investors.com explains the advantages of an internet not burdened with heavy regulations. In short, there are a lot of competitors vying to provide internet service to customers. And they are constantly trying to improve their product and make it more affordable. Throwing in heavy handed government regulations will stifle this expected result of free markets.
Keep the internet free from government regulators. Bury Net Neutrality once and for all.
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2:17 PM 5/23/2017
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