[11604] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Clinton Adminsitration Corporate Network Socialism?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Gordon Cook)
Sun Apr 10 23:05:23 1994
From: cook@path.net (Gordon Cook)
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 02:15:54 GMT
To: com-priv@psi.com
>From EDUPage:
CommerceNet, to be operational by September, is being billed as the
first large-scale effort to transact business on the Internet. Backers of
the effort include Apple Computer, BankAmerica, Hewlett-Packard, Lockheed
and Sun Microsystems. The service will start with about 50 companies
offering products, services, and on-line banking, and will expand to
include brokerage and notary services as well. CommerceNet has an initial
investment of $12 million with half of its funding to come from government.
"This is the first industrial park in Cyberspace," notes author Daniel
Dern. (Wall Street Journal 4/8/94 B2)
NOTE the statement:
CommerceNet has an initial
investment of $12 million with **half of its funding** to come from government.
Do I hear this right? Someone in the Clinton Administration is
dumping $6 million in tax dollars into a scheme to support commercial services
by these wealthy companies over the internet?
What public interest is being served by doing this? Did these companies tell
Mike Nelson, Tom Kalil, Larry Irving and Al Gore they were so poor they could
NOT explore commerce on the network unless taxpayers footed half the bill!
??
