4 ms·

Americans may be docile, but businesses and corporations are not. What do you think the proprietors of the thousands of POPs across America are going to tell t

Americans may be docile, but businesses and corporations are not. What do you think the proprietors of the thousands of POPs across America are going to tell the feds who come to shut them down? What do you think Google or Microsoft or Facebook are going to say when the government tries to cut off their primary source of income? Do you really think the same corporations that extensively lobby the government now are going to sit idly by while the government shuts this Internet thing down?

danenania 16y ago
"What do you think Google or Microsoft or Facebook are going to say when the government tries to cut off their primary source of income?" They're going to say: "how much will you pay us to help you do it?" The answer will be "a lot" as it's always been. And the answer if they don't comply will be "you're finished". Standard mafioso tactics. Are you really expecting giant corporations to have principles at all, not to mention principles they are willing to sacrifice themselves for? Anyone within who suggests they should will hastily be shown the door. That's how the modern corporation is structured. The filthily rich throughout history haven't exactly been the harbingers of revolution.
- JoachimSchipper 16y ago
  > The filthily rich throughout history haven't exactly been the harbingers of revolution. Actually, more than one revolution was an attempt by the rich to overthrow the powerful.
  - danenania 16y ago
    Of course they will try to manipulate the situation, but will you see them on the street? It's not really the point though. Perhaps I'm wrong about the importance of the wealthy in revolutions throughout history. The point is it's naive to expect giant corporations to take enormous risks in defying government power. Wealthy individuals? Perhaps. Perhaps small businesses or startups. But not big corporations--they are too profit-centered and conservative and they have too much to lose. Just look at Vodafone's complicit behavior in Egypt. It's a direct parallel.
- CWuestefeld 16y ago
  Agreed. Given a way to frame it so that it seems like it's working in the interest of "the people", they'll be happy to lay down on their swords. Really, this kind of things happens all the time. Corporations are happy to be handicapped when the same handicap presents an even greater barrier to competition. Economists even have a term for this: "rent seeking" (see https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Rent_seeking https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Rent_seeking ) The regulations that hobble the pharmaceutical industry today (you can debate about whether they're good or not; this isn't the point) were initially sought by the industry, in order to weed out snake oil charlatans. A significant early backer of gun control regulation was the Ruger corporation, because the regulations were structured in a way that affected imports (like Beretta) much more severely.
- jemfinch 16y ago
  > The filthily rich throughout history haven't exactly been the harbingers of revolution. Most of the founding fathers of the United States were rich, you know.
- knowaveragejoe 16y ago
  Considering that a good portion of the money that you're suggesting the gov't would pay those companies to shut down their internet facing services comes in part from those same companies' internet revenues(as taxes), I don't know how this would work. It would be an economical disaster for the gov't to shut down the one thing that's propped up our economy so well in the last 20 years. You seem to forget the gov't has money because of taxes, they don't just pull it out of their ass(es).

danenania 16y ago

"What do you think Google or Microsoft or Facebook are going to say when the government tries to cut off their primary source of income?" They're going to say: "how much will you pay us to help you do it?" The answer will be "a lot" as it's always been. And the answer if they don't comply will be "you're finished". Standard mafioso tactics. Are you really expecting giant corporations to have principles at all, not to mention principles they are willing to sacrifice themselves for? Anyone within who suggests they should will hastily be shown the door. That's how the modern corporation is structured. The filthily rich throughout history haven't exactly been the harbingers of revolution.

JoachimSchipper 16y ago
> The filthily rich throughout history haven't exactly been the harbingers of revolution. Actually, more than one revolution was an attempt by the rich to overthrow the powerful.
- danenania 16y ago
  Of course they will try to manipulate the situation, but will you see them on the street? It's not really the point though. Perhaps I'm wrong about the importance of the wealthy in revolutions throughout history. The point is it's naive to expect giant corporations to take enormous risks in defying government power. Wealthy individuals? Perhaps. Perhaps small businesses or startups. But not big corporations--they are too profit-centered and conservative and they have too much to lose. Just look at Vodafone's complicit behavior in Egypt. It's a direct parallel.
CWuestefeld 16y ago
Agreed. Given a way to frame it so that it seems like it's working in the interest of "the people", they'll be happy to lay down on their swords. Really, this kind of things happens all the time. Corporations are happy to be handicapped when the same handicap presents an even greater barrier to competition. Economists even have a term for this: "rent seeking" (see https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Rent_seeking https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Rent_seeking ) The regulations that hobble the pharmaceutical industry today (you can debate about whether they're good or not; this isn't the point) were initially sought by the industry, in order to weed out snake oil charlatans. A significant early backer of gun control regulation was the Ruger corporation, because the regulations were structured in a way that affected imports (like Beretta) much more severely.
jemfinch 16y ago
> The filthily rich throughout history haven't exactly been the harbingers of revolution. Most of the founding fathers of the United States were rich, you know.
knowaveragejoe 16y ago
Considering that a good portion of the money that you're suggesting the gov't would pay those companies to shut down their internet facing services comes in part from those same companies' internet revenues(as taxes), I don't know how this would work. It would be an economical disaster for the gov't to shut down the one thing that's propped up our economy so well in the last 20 years. You seem to forget the gov't has money because of taxes, they don't just pull it out of their ass(es).