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This is a good idea except for the part where big telco's have more lobbying power in congress than oil companies and this would never happen
by thechut 14y ago
This is a good idea except for the part where big telco's have more lobbying power in congress than oil companies and this would never happen
- gojomo 14y agoSo 'net neutrality' regulations can somehow get around this lobbying power, but fixing the competitive dynamic can't? Both face the risk of being twisted to the incumbent's advantage, so why not shoot for the more comprehensive solution -- real competition -- rather than solidifying in place a duopoly with slow-moving rulemaking?
- lucian303 14y agoYes, and in my experience, they have no one in direct customer support that has heard of internet basics like DNS (Comcast), let alone how to keep up such essential network services. Well we know where the money from the overpriced, underpowered ISP bill is going to indeed.
- dfc 14y ago"telcos have more power than oil companies." This is demonstrably false. From opensecrets: Lobbying money by industry 1998-2012[1] Industry Total $ --------------------------------------------------- Pharmaceuticals/Health Products 2,505,357,767 Insurance 1,774,111,357 Electric Utilities 1,663,072,243 Business Associations 1,438,954,214 Computers/Internet 1,359,204,389 Oil & Gas 1,329,100,727 Education 1,159,377,327 Misc Manufacturing & Distributing 1,147,911,037 Hospitals/Nursing Homes 1,069,574,050 TV/Movies/Music 1,022,160,821 Civil Servants/Public Officials 1,014,054,831 Securities & Investment 980,371,025 Real Estate 975,927,683 Health Professionals 941,438,165 Air Transport 896,844,603 Misc Issues 773,377,869 Telephone Utilities 746,207,234 Automotive 732,207,809 Telecom Services & Equipment 701,829,850 Defense Aerospace 647,089,847 Lobbying money by industry 2012[2] (Telcos did not even make the list in 2012. Industry Total $ ------------------------------------------------- Pharmaceuticals/Health Products 180,048,744 Business Associations 121,893,383 Insurance 113,540,783 Electric Utilities 108,068,579 Oil & Gas 103,734,662 Computers/Internet 96,569,868 TV/Movies/Music 89,178,807 Misc Manufacturing & Distributing 79,921,881 Securities & Investment 74,038,412 Hospitals/Nursing Homes 68,677,679 Education 67,041,930 Air Transport 58,666,778 Health Professionals 57,991,637 Real Estate 55,517,526 Civil Servants/Public Officials 54,276,821 Health Services/HMOs 50,248,170 Commercial Banks 44,376,751 Automotive 42,835,629 Chemical & Related Manufacturing 42,435,792 Defense Aerospace 42,398,654 Lobbying money by industry 2011[3] Industry Total $ ------------------------------------------------- Pharmaceuticals/Health Products 241,462,770 Insurance 159,878,505 Oil & Gas 149,169,677 Electric Utilities 145,285,040 Computers/Internet 126,911,432 TV/Movies/Music 122,898,063 Misc Manufacturing & Distributing 118,668,254 Education 106,246,285 Business Associations 106,139,640 Securities & Investment 101,913,226 Hospitals/Nursing Homes 100,768,231 Civil Servants/Public Officials 83,236,247 Health Professionals 81,006,752 Air Transport 80,773,141 Health Services/HMOs 74,033,507 Real Estate 67,178,304 Automotive 61,776,786 Commercial Banks 61,376,654 Defense Aerospace 59,702,900 Telecom Services & Equipment 57,736,688 [1] https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=a&indexType=i https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=a&ind... [2] https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=2012&indexType=i https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=2012&... [3] https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=2011&indexType=i https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=2011&...
- nitrogen 14y agoYour list reports Computers/Internet as a separate category from Telecom Services & Equipment, and Computers/Internet beats out Oil & Gas on the 1998-2012 list. How much of Computers/Internet should be counted as Telecom?
- dfc 14y agoI would like to point out that it is not "my list." I do not want to mislead anyone, the data was compiled by openserets.org (hence the reference links). With that being said it is fairly easy to check and see what companies were included in the Computers and Internet category. The list for 2012 is quite long so I do not want to paste all the entries. Here are the links for 2012, 2011 and 2010 respectively: https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=B12&year=2012 https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=B12&... https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=B12&year=2011 https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=B12&... https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=B12&year=2010 https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=B12&... What companies do you think should be included in Telecom? How do they compare to the top 5 in Oil and Gas? Royal Dutch Shell $10,860,000 Exxon Mobil $9,870,000 Koch Industries $7,800,000 Chevron Corp $7,080,000 BP $6,860,000
- nitrogen 14y agoSorry, by "your" I meant "the list you quoted." Thanks for the links to the breakdowns; they succinctly answer my previous question: "very little."
- 001sky 14y agoIts not just in congress, but at the state and local level. The political ad-spend on TV and internet marketing is massive. Its a corrupt circle, not just a one-way deal. Thats why its so pernicious, unseemly, and to most unseen.