[11612] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: Clinton Adminsitration Corporate Network Socialism?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Joseph W. Stroup)
Mon Apr 11 13:52:09 1994
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 1994 23:21:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Joseph W. Stroup" <nettech@crl.com>
To: Gordon Cook <cook@path.net>
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: <9404110215.aa08723@pandora.sf.ca.us>
Hold the phone folks - Have I read this right ? The U.S. Government is
going to fund COMPUSERVE II ? What is the crap ? I have to tell myself
each and everyday - Joe this is NOT your ditch to die in.
What sort of crazy crap is leaving Washington these days ? Its taking the
train because its so heavy the Superhighway would crack.
I still say there is a sign at the Whitehouse that says "Hi, I'm Bill and
we are open for business".
Joseph Stroup
On Mon, 11 Apr 1994, Gordon Cook wrote:
> >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!
> ??
>
