In 2014, the Universal Service Fund (USF) collected approximately $8.5 billion to support telecommunications programs that include the Low Income support services, Lifeline and Link-Up programs; the High-Cost program; the Library and Schools program; and the Rural Health program. The funding for the USF is found in the charges on consumer’s communications bills as a […]
Sen. Warren Goes it Alone in Her War on Auto Dealers
Sen. Warren is having trouble getting anyone to support her war on auto dealer lending. A June 1, 2015 Politico article stated that Warren has been actively trying to garner cosponsors for legislation that attempts to bring the auto finance industry under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s regulatory jurisdiction. The only problem? Even her fellow Democratic senators […]
The TPA Debate: Fears & Facts about “Fast-Track”
When Chicken Little said “The sky is falling!” and convinced his barnyard brethren of the same, the facts notwithstanding, he practically invented fear-mongering. Trade liberalization opponents are engaged in their own version of spreading false and misleading information by claiming that so-called “fast track” legislation is fraught with end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it perils. Just as the falling acorn […]
The TPA Debate: Fears & Facts about “Fast-Track”
When Chicken Little said “The sky is falling!” and convinced his barnyard brethren of the same, the facts notwithstanding, he practically invented fear-mongering. Trade liberalization opponents are engaged in their own version of spreading false and misleading information by claiming that so-called “fast track” legislation is fraught with end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it perils. Just as the falling acorn […]
Fail and Expand: The USPS Way
In the world inhabited by rational people, when a business repeatedly falters and fails make a profit, it is slated for downsizing and a return to the basic services where it had previously operated effectively. But, in the world of government-sponsored entities, the opposite impulse occurs. Having lost more than $46 billion since 2007, The […]
IRS Hiring of Outside Litigator Appears to Violate Law and Infringe Privacy
In what appears to be an unprecedented and illegal action, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has apparently for the first time hired a law firm to assist in the income tax audit and investigation of a taxpayer. In a May 13, 2015 letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) […]
The Need for More Spectrum Auctions
A May 11, 2015 report from the Brattle Group estimates the value of the 645.5 MHz of licensed spectrum currently in use at almost $500 billion. Beyond the monetary value of this spectrum are the services provided to consumers using licensed spectrum through their mobile devices. According to the report, economists have estimated that the […]
Almost Everything is Genetically Modified
According to a September 2014 Smithsonian article written by David Newland, “Sorry Hipsters, That Organic Kale is a Genetically Modified Food,” most of the food we eat today is not natural. “Some 10,000 years ago,” said Newland, “our ancestors picked tiny berries, collected bitter plants, and hunted sinewy game, because these are the foods that occurred naturally in the wild.” What changed all of that? “Agriculture,” wrote Newland, and “with it the eventual realization that farmers could selectively breed animals and plants to be bigger, hardier, and easier to manage.”
Focusing on Music Copyright for World IP Day
On April 26, 2015, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) marked World Intellectual Property Day. The theme was “Get Up, Stand Up. For Music,” which was intended to highlight the contributions of musical artists around the world and encourage the protection of their intellectual property (IP). Artists and musicians combat piracy and copyright infringement on a daily basis, while they also struggle to be adequately compensated for their work.
DOE’s Green Loan Programs Waste More Green than They Create
A decade after the creation of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) first program to stimulate green energy projects, the concept is projected to lose more money than it receives, leaving taxpayers holding the reusable cloth bag.