Telecommunications

Radio shock jock Doug “The Greaseman” Tracht in the 1980s and funny man Dennis Miller in the ’90s had a shared catch-phrase, “Who’s your daddy?” that evolved into a taunting expression of superiority over the respondent.  The familiar adage, “knowledge is power,” evokes another dynamic, wherein access to information is critical.  Inquiring taxpayers would therefore want to know, “Where’s my data?”

Numbers certainly rule The National Aeronautic Space Association’s (NASA) universe. When it comes to solving complex formulas to calculate the orbit of a Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the exact second when space particles disappear into a black hole, or the amount of oxygen needed for human life to orbit the moon, they have it down to a tee.  NASA has developed some of the worlds’ most complex tools and mathematical formulas that have helped the agency lead the world in space-related technological innovation.

The notion of equality on the Internet may sound reasonable, but net neutrality, as defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is instead an attack on private-sector business models.  Proponents of net neutrality want the online world to be forced “open” at the expense of successful Internet providers, but fail to recognize the many tradeoffs to “openness,” such as increased spam, fewer privacy controls, slower service, and, perhaps most importantly, decreased incentives for investment and innovation.