Since 2004, Citizens Against Government Waste has been attending the European Resource Bank (ERB) Meeting. This year’s annual meeting of free-market think tanks was held in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, hosted by the New Economic School in the Republic of Georgia. Even though the ERB was originally planned to be held in Georgia because of the free-market reforms pushed by the country’s prime minister and president, Mikheil Saakashvili, events preceding the meeting (the Russian invasion) gave it even more urgency.
FCC Takes First Steps in Enforcing Net Neutrality
The government is one step closer to regulating the Internet as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) attempts to sanction Comcast for its management of Internet traffic. The FCC claims that its authority to act is covered under broadband network principles that were adopted in September 2005. The principles were intended to increase competition among network providers, and allow consumer access to “the lawful Internet content of their choice … run applications and use services of their choice … and connect to their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network.” This was supposed to address network neutrality.
The Government’s Net Loss
Government involvement in the private sector and technology has been a disaster. The technology industry is a dynamic, fast-moving industry delivering new products to consumers every day and the government is struggling to perform even the most basic tasks such as creating software for a fully functioning e-travel system for the Pentagon (see the story about the Defense Travel System).
IRS Still Plagued By Security Vulnerability
The Government Accountability Project (GAO) released a report on January 8, 2008 documenting the mediocre progress made by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) toward tightening its information security systems. The GAO said: “The IRS is at increased risk of unauthorized access to and disclosure, modification, and destruction of financial and taxpayer information, as well as inadvertent or deliberate disruption of system operations and services.”
FCC Trying to Take Over Your TV
WHEEL OF FORTUNE! It slices, it dices- Tony Romo, back to pass . These are the sounds of America’s quintessential channel surfers, as they look for that perfect show to watch. But if Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin has his way, this activity would be under stricter government control and ultimately more expensive to […]
Tidbits
Congressman Kanjorski (D-Pa.) joins a mushrooming list of members of Congress whose earmarking habits are getting a lot of media attention. Over an eight-year period, Rep. Kanjorski steered $10 million in earmarked federal funding (from the Energy and Defense Departments, as well as the Economic Development Administration) to Cornerstone Technologies, LLC, which employed his four nephews and his daughter as either owners or board members. The ostensible purpose of the grants was to do research on using high-pressure jets of water to pulverize anthracite into microscopic particles for subsequent use in vehicle parts. Cornerstone has now declared bankruptcy, but while contracts were flowing, the company was paying hefty salaries to at least two of Kanjorski’s nephews. Not only was Cornerstone funded with federal contracts, one of its affiliates, Pennsylvania Micronics, run by other Kanjorski relatives, also benefited from subcontracts. A former head of Penn State’s Energy Institute is quoted in a June 3, 2007 Scranton Times-Tribune as saying “it was like the four stooges meet anthracite.” Which reminded us of that famous Stooges exchange between Curly and Moe in the classic film “Dizzy Pilots:” “Vice? I have no vice. I’m pure as the driven snow,” says Curly. “Yeah, but ya drifted!” says Moe…slap!
A Tale of Two Continents
America and Europe have two different visions of how to succeed in business. Europe does it without really trying, and America does it the old-fashioned way, by working hard and making higher quality and more desired products. This is particularly true in technology, which is one explanation for the European Commission’s (EC) ongoing crusade against Microsoft.
The Invasive Nature of “Net Neutrality”
The world has seen an incredible increase in computer and Internet capabilities over the last decade. This expansion has been spurred by the capitalist principles of competition. The dynamism of the Internet is now being threatened by politicians who want to regulate it. If implemented, regulation will stifle competition, raise consumer costs, and hinder high-speed Internet deployment and innovation.