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The real villians are the ISPs: Comcast and At&t. This is what we should be going after. They spend billions to corrupt politicians and prevent competition. And

The real villians are the ISPs: Comcast and At&t. This is what we should be going after. They spend billions to corrupt politicians and prevent competition. And use government to set up legislation that prevents competition.

basch 9y ago
The ISPs are more traditional monopolies. However, our frameworks for evaluating what is too big need to evolve to handle things that traditionally were viewed as acceptable. http://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox http://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox
ShabbosGoy 9y ago
"Villain" as a word evokes the image of a silent film tycoon malevolently twirling their moustache over bags of money. Rational might be the word you're after. AT&T and Comcast are acting as corporations to maximize shareholder returns. But it is true that money often corrupts. A completely unregulated market leads to negative externalities that the taxpayer is ultimately responsible for. A completely regulated market stifles innovation and kills growth. I'm not sure if regulation is a viable option at this point, mainly due to the sheer incompetence of regulatory bodies and government bureaucrats.
- pascalxus 9y ago
  It's true, they're just fulfilling their duties to shareholders. But, when corporations start using the government to stifle competition: this is a line that should not be crossed and deserves precisely the reaction that this article has mentioned. Google and Facebook have not crossed this line, at least not yet. They're actions are rational, only if they succeed. If there's enough political reaction that results in the breaking up of these monopolies, it may not be so rational afterall.
  - JBlue42 9y ago
    Like in my neighborhood where Spectrum and AT&T are the only choices, w/ Spectrum being majority. I called to see if they had any packages cheaper than what I was grandfathered in under after the Time Warner merger. They said no, Spectrum has set the floor at $60/mo for 100 Mps and did away with Time Warner's cheaper tiers.

basch 9y ago

The ISPs are more traditional monopolies. However, our frameworks for evaluating what is too big need to evolve to handle things that traditionally were viewed as acceptable. http://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox http://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox

ShabbosGoy 9y ago

"Villain" as a word evokes the image of a silent film tycoon malevolently twirling their moustache over bags of money. Rational might be the word you're after. AT&T and Comcast are acting as corporations to maximize shareholder returns. But it is true that money often corrupts. A completely unregulated market leads to negative externalities that the taxpayer is ultimately responsible for. A completely regulated market stifles innovation and kills growth. I'm not sure if regulation is a viable option at this point, mainly due to the sheer incompetence of regulatory bodies and government bureaucrats.

pascalxus 9y ago
It's true, they're just fulfilling their duties to shareholders. But, when corporations start using the government to stifle competition: this is a line that should not be crossed and deserves precisely the reaction that this article has mentioned. Google and Facebook have not crossed this line, at least not yet. They're actions are rational, only if they succeed. If there's enough political reaction that results in the breaking up of these monopolies, it may not be so rational afterall.
- JBlue42 9y ago
  Like in my neighborhood where Spectrum and AT&T are the only choices, w/ Spectrum being majority. I called to see if they had any packages cheaper than what I was grandfathered in under after the Time Warner merger. They said no, Spectrum has set the floor at $60/mo for 100 Mps and did away with Time Warner's cheaper tiers.