[12792] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: What is required for information access?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Karl Denninger)
Sun May 29 02:05:39 1994
From: karl@mcs.com (Karl Denninger)
To: frezza@radiomail.net (Bill Frezza)
Date: Sat, 28 May 1994 10:09:22 -0500 (CDT)
Cc: com-priv@psi.com, alt-politics-datahighway@cs.utexas.edu, djw@eff.org
In-Reply-To: <199405272020.AA02903@radiomail.net> from "Bill Frezza" at May 27, 94 01:20:01 pm
>
> Dan,
>
> You state:
>
> <We'd like to see an
> environment where access is so cheap, that little subsidy is required, but
> we are simply not willing to rely on market mechanisms alone to determine
> who has access to information and who is without it.>
>
> Fine. To have access one needs to have a network connection and a computer
> to plug into it.
And therein lies the rub.
Those people who are in "do-gooder" mode and wish to play the subsidy game
have forgotten the most important issue in this debate -- that the computer
is still a thousand-dollar (or more) item.
Nobody who fits the definition of "unable to purchase access on the
competitive market" can afford <the access device>!
If you wish to argue for subsidies for public institutions (ie: libraries)
so they can provide the computers and access for these folks, then make
those subsidies <DIRECT CASH PAYMENTS>. Those I can support.
Why? Two reasons:
1) The amount of money spent is <directly> visible, and accounted for.
There is no way to "hide" the amount spent on such an entitlement,
and therefore it cannot escape public scrutiny -- which is how it
should be.
2) The money available supports and enhances, rather than dimishes,
competition, since it is not forced to or from any specific firm(s).
--
--
Karl Denninger (karl@MCS.Net)| MCSNet - The Finest Internet Connectivity
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