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It shouldn't be up to the government. All getting government involved would do is create new opportunities for corporate corruption to hose up the whole mess.

It shouldn't be up to the government. All getting government involved would do is create new opportunities for corporate corruption to hose up the whole mess. As long as this doesn't prevent any private efforts to do the same thing, the fact government has stopped moving forward on the matter is probably a blessing in disguise.

windsurfer 17y ago
Except no one has been or is doing this. The government in Canada steps up in some places when there is insufficient private investment.
- gruseom 17y ago
  Except it doesn't.
- apotheon 17y ago
  Who's crazy enough to try to compete with the government on something like that? As long as the government looks likely to do it, private efforts probably aren't going to happen -- unless it turns out that there's strong public dislike for the government version. Now that government appears to have bowed out of the market niche, there's a possibility that private efforts might move forward. Of you're a Canadian with entrepreneurial spirit of your own, maybe you should look into making something like this happen before someone beats you to it (or even before some major telco manages to create a biased version of this and manages to convince people it's objective "enough").
- qw 17y ago
  The Norwegian government made a similar site in 2002, because they felt the confusion around the "products" made it easier to hide hidden costs. Because no such service existed, they had to make it themselves.
dkarl 17y ago
Consumer information from the government is likely to be as accurate as the USDA Food Pyramid (aka "what to eat to keep the food industry healthy.") Lots of consumer protection groups thrive in the US without any government support except non-profit status. Check out this list (the link is .gov, but most of the organizations listed are private): http://www.consumeraction.gov/resprt2.shtml http://www.consumeraction.gov/resprt2.shtml Without a doubt, each group has an agenda, so you have to be careful. Some are lefty, some are just industry fronts, and they all have an inevitable interest in increasing their own power and budget. But how is that any worse than the government? At least this way you aren't at the mercy of whatever power is temporarily in national ascendance. You can pick a group that reflects your own ideals. Maybe Canadian citizens should join Consumer's Union or a similar Canadian group and lobby them to produce the cell phone calculator with their own funds.

windsurfer 17y ago

Except no one has been or is doing this. The government in Canada steps up in some places when there is insufficient private investment.

gruseom 17y ago
Except it doesn't.
apotheon 17y ago
Who's crazy enough to try to compete with the government on something like that? As long as the government looks likely to do it, private efforts probably aren't going to happen -- unless it turns out that there's strong public dislike for the government version. Now that government appears to have bowed out of the market niche, there's a possibility that private efforts might move forward. Of you're a Canadian with entrepreneurial spirit of your own, maybe you should look into making something like this happen before someone beats you to it (or even before some major telco manages to create a biased version of this and manages to convince people it's objective "enough").
qw 17y ago
The Norwegian government made a similar site in 2002, because they felt the confusion around the "products" made it easier to hide hidden costs. Because no such service existed, they had to make it themselves.

dkarl 17y ago

Consumer information from the government is likely to be as accurate as the USDA Food Pyramid (aka "what to eat to keep the food industry healthy.") Lots of consumer protection groups thrive in the US without any government support except non-profit status. Check out this list (the link is .gov, but most of the organizations listed are private): http://www.consumeraction.gov/resprt2.shtml http://www.consumeraction.gov/resprt2.shtml Without a doubt, each group has an agenda, so you have to be careful. Some are lefty, some are just industry fronts, and they all have an inevitable interest in increasing their own power and budget. But how is that any worse than the government? At least this way you aren't at the mercy of whatever power is temporarily in national ascendance. You can pick a group that reflects your own ideals. Maybe Canadian citizens should join Consumer's Union or a similar Canadian group and lobby them to produce the cell phone calculator with their own funds.