Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Michael Czeiszperger <michael AT czeiszperger.org>]

On Jun 21, 2007, at 6:46 PM, Jim Cook wrote:

> Does anyone else find this bothersome?
>
> "The Local Government Fair Competition Act (HB 1587), introduced in  
> the
> N.C. House with bipartisan partnership in April, would not allow local
> governments to use tax revenue to fund any kind of telecommunications
> utility."

There's a whole movement out there of people who think governments  
should leave everything to the private sector.  To them, the idea  
that government would take on one more thing that could be done by  
the private sector is something to be outlawed. This movement wants  
to get rid of public schools, public hospitals, and public utilities,  
just to name a few.

The problem is the logic doesn't hold for many things government  
already does.  For example, why not outsource the police and fire  
protection?  Each city could contract with a different security  
company. ("Chapel Hill, protected by Blackwater Security").  Or you  
could go farther, like some, and argue that the government doesn't  
have the right to take money from the rich and use it to provide  
services for the poor.
Each neighborhood could withhold taxes that go to the police and fire  
and hire their own security guards.  Of course, rich neighborhoods  
would be well protected, and the poor wouldn't get any protection,  
but why does the government have a right to take money from the rich  
and give it to undeserving poor people?

________________________________________________________________________ 
_________
"This device is provided without warranty of any kind as to  
reliability, accuracy, existence or otherwise fitness for any  
particular purpose and Bioalchemic Products specifically does not  
warrant, guarantee, imply or make any representations as to its  
merchantability for any particular purpose and furthermore shall have  
no liability for or responsibility to you or any other person, entity  
or deity with respect of any loss or damage whatsoever caused by this  
device or object or by any attempts to destroy it by hammering it  
against a wall or dropping it into a deep well or any other means  
whatsoever and moreover asserts that you indicate your acceptance of  
this agreement or any other agreement that may be substituted at any  
time by coming within five miles of the product or observing it  
through large telescopes or by any other means because you are such  
an easily cowed moron who will happily accept arrogant and unilateral  
conditions on a piece of highly priced garbage that you would not  
dream of accepting on a bag of dog biscuits and is used solely at  
your own risk."  -- Pratchett