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I had just finished watching the last and most anticipated speaker, Rush Limbaugh, speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Fox News network ran it uninterrupted. I was about to write a blog about it and post it when the snow storm knocked out my telephone lines, and of course my internet. Now I live in the city so it should not be a big problem but it still took two days to get my service back. I mention this only because of another blog I’m working on about Oboma’s so called pork free Stimulus Bill. But after my experience with the snow this weekend, maybe the pork that has to do with the internet isn’t such a bad idea after all… NOT. I mean what good would high speed internet do in the rural areas when the phone company can’t even keep it working in the city. Actually, there is no good reason to get the government involved in the internet and many reasons why it should not.
A very good example is the telephone network. For many years telephone service was regulated by the Federal Government because it was provided by one company - AT&T. Well… that’s not exactly true. AT&T provided telephone service to most of the country but rural areas had private or co-op companies. Any place that AT&T thought was not cost effective, they would not serve. Instead, communities or entrepreneurs would get investors to put up the money and build their own mini telephone company.
The real problem came with government regulation. Unless you’re over 40 you probably don’t realize telephones were once, very simple communication devices. There was no touchtone phones, no call waiting, caller ID, voice mail, or any of the other features we consider necessities.
Touchtone phones were invented in 1964, but weren’t available for at least 4 or more years and were an additional cost per month. You couldn’t buy any phone equipment; you had to rent it from the phone company. Every piece of equipment and every feature was an extra charge called a tariff. These tariffs were set by the Federal, State and Local Governments. Because of these tariffs, i.e. government price fixing, there was no incentive for innovations. Bell Labs, (owned by AT&T), ITT Telephone, and Stromberg-Carlson were the three major manufacturers of telephone equipment. ITT and Stromberg-Carlson sold their equipment to the independent and co-op telephone companies along with Canada, (Canadian Bell), South American and European countries. For this reason, some other countries had features long before us – the US. Finally, in 1968 A man named Clark sued and was able to purchase and install his own telephone. This led to deregulation and the eventual break-up of AT&T and the Bell Telephone Companies known as Baby Bells. Because of this, you pay nothing or practically nothing for long distance service instead of $35.00 for a 5 minute call from San Antonio, TX to Memphis, TN. Yes, I actually had to pay $35 and some change for a 5 minute call from boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base to my parents at home in Memphis, TN in December of 1967.
Because of deregulation you can have call waiting, voice mail, speed dialing, free long distance and yes, even the Internet. None of this would be possible if the government still controlled the telephone network.
Now tell me, do you really want the government to run the banks, car companies, health care and all the other things Oboma and the Democrats want?
I am just one voice. I have set up this blog site to publish the truth as I understand it. You might ‘see’ a different truth. That is why I encourage you to post your vision. I never edit other’s comments or block them. I want to hear your thoughts and reasoning. The real strength of our great country is the ability for everyone to voice their opinion no matter their position. The only contributions I have requested so far is your word but now I ask for your help. If you would like to join me in starting a P.A.C to help replace these career politicians who refuse to listen to their constituents; please donate a few dollars.
