Net Neutrality

[Fife]

Sounds like your neighborhood will benefit greatly from firms clamoring for your attention and hard-earned sheckels; especially as the shitty providers are buried by the good ones. "Buh-bye" is precisely what the shitty outfits need to hear from you and everyone else. And they are.

Now that we agree that there is no monopoly issue, is there any reason left for the government to take over the internet?

[K@th]

Now that we agree that there is no monopoly issue, is there any reason left for the government to take over the internet?

I don't think I ever supported government takeover of the internet. I do ask clarification questions, to hear both sides. Do you believe anyone asking questions is always doing so because they support the opposition? I get why Clubby & DSL think I'm a loony leftie, but I'm surprised you think so.

I do not have competition, here. The only reason I have AT&T is because Comcast sucks about as much as a company can. IOW, AT&T is my worst option, except for my other option.

[Fife]

Now that we agree that there is no monopoly issue,

I don't think I ever supported government takeover of the internet. I do ask clarification questions, to hear both sides. Do you believe anyone asking questions is always doing so because they support the opposition? I get why Clubby & DSL think I'm a loony leftie, but I'm surprised you think so.

I do not have competition, here. The only reason I have AT&T is because Comcast sucks about as much as a company can. IOW, AT&T is my worst option, except for my other option.

I don't think you are a loony anything.

My question had to do with what possible solutions to your current concerns can be provided by the federal government (assuming for the sake of argument that NN has good intentions at all -- which is patently false); to-wit: "is there any reason left for the government to take over the internet?"

My term is "take-over." Read that as "legislating it to be a 'public utility'" if it makes it easier. Same difference.

[K@th]

It's an interesting question. I'd rather have competition for my water, electric, etc., but that requires a lot of new infrastructure. I don't want there to be 20 competing roads to get to the same destination.

Answer: I'm not sure. If we could trust the people to hold government accountable, and that was working, I'd say yes. We don't have that, though. I don't trust the ISP's either. There's the conundrum.

[Fife]

Do you trust Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, &c?

We (our society) doesn't ipso facto need any state infrastructure at all for those firms to provide goods to us in exchange for money.

Ones and zeros aren't like water or gas. The idea that we need the government to take over distribution and receiving of ones and zeros as a "public utility" requires the most hard-headed kind of backward and fearful thinking, IMNSHO.

[SuburbanFarmer]

Pretty outstanding appeals to emotion in this thread.

wait.. lemme grab my hankey.

[K@th]

Do you trust Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, &c?

Amazon steels wages from its' minimum wage workers. I hate Walmart; taxpayers are subsidizing their human resources costs. Target is more of the same.

Costco - pays their employees a living wage. Experience at Costco far exceeds experience at any other large retailer. Their retention is high. Same with BJs. I spend a lot at BJs.

[Fife]

Do you trust Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, &c?

Amazon steels wages from its' minimum wage workers. I hate Walmart; taxpayers are subsidizing their human resources costs. Target is more of the same.

Costco - pays their employees a living wage. Experience at Costco far exceeds experience at any other large retailer. Their retention is high. Same with BJs. I spend a lot at BJs.

I was just throwing out some random examples, which was my point. For example, I love the Walmart. I love Coca-cola. I love Budweiser. I hate Pepsi. I detest Starbucks. I loathe the Chicago Cubs almost as much as communism. YMMV. Every action begins with some individual preference, yes?

I understand that you dislike some of these companies my random list and like others, to differing degrees.

What I asked, though, was do you trust them? By "trust" I mean trust that they are not acting in some criminal or illegal manner that might require them being destroyed, or more in the context of the current discussion, taken over by the state?

[Fife]

Pretty outstanding appeals to emotion in this thread.

wait.. lemme grab my hankey.

Is that what yankees are still calling their jerk-rags?

:goteam: :drunk:

[K@th]

By "trust" I mean trust that they are not acting in some criminal or illegal manner that might require them being destroyed, or more in the context of the current discussion, taken over by the state?

Amazon doesn't pay its' employees for all the hours they work. SCOTUS says they don't have to.

That's big business colluding with government to steal money from low wage employees. No. I don't trust Amazon.