Quote of the Day: On 'net neutrality'

"Progress requires inequality. If you don't give entrepreneurs the ability to become unequal--not just get rich themselves--but they have to make their customers unequal, they've got to give their customers commercial advantage or life advantage. That's what drives progress. If you take that out of the equation, if you say all traffic has to be treated equal, all customers have to be treated equal--first of all, capital investment in the network is going to go down. We've already seen some of that. But so is innovation. Why would you want to give that up?"
~ technology entrepreneur Bill Frezza, quoted in Robert Tracinski's article 'AT&T’s Cautionary Tale for Net Neutrality'

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‘Net neutrality’ in a cartoon or two…

So how does it work?

Because "nothing says forward-looking for the 21st century like a regulated utility."

RELATED READING:

• 'Net Neutrality' Q&A: What it is, how it affects you – NZ HERALD
• “The Federal Communications Commission recently announced new “net neutrality” rules, ostensibly to guarantee a “free and open internet.” But as the New York times reported, the new rules are “a strong hand to regulate the internet.” In reading FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s defence of his plan, one can uncover hidden threats to internet freedom.”
  Toward a Less-Free Internet: The FCC’s New ‘Net Neutrality’ Regulations – Michael LaFerrara, PRINCIPLED PERSPECTIVES
• “He continued: "Having them overseeing the Internet scares the shit out of me."”
  Mark Cuban: FCC's Net Neutrality, Title II Actions "Will Fuck Everything Up." – REASON
• “The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently trying to figure out what to do with the internet. … It’s all about the regulation of the internet.
  ”Regulation and the internet don’t go well together.”
  Net Neutrality: Telcos versus the Federal Communications Commission – Sam Volkering, DAILY RECKONING, AUSTRALIA
• “To Whom it May Concern (which is basically everybody),
  As a regular Tumblr user, I was disappointed to see Tumblr’s open support of so-called “Net Neutrality.” I find it terribly ironic that a company which is able to exist solely because of the current state of internet freedom, supports regulation that would essentially hand over internet liberty to the federal government. “Save the Internet”? From what, exactly? Conditions that allowed your company to flourish? How…unselfish of you.”
  An open letter to Tumblr about Net Neutrality – POOR RICHARD’S NEWS
  
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• “The Internet has made all of our lives better, in part because there’s been an accidental policy of benign neglect from Washington. But that’s about to change.”
  Should Government Regulators Make the Internet More Like the Post Office or U.S. DMV? – Dan Mitchell, INTERNATIONAL LIBERTY
• “The government is quickly becoming the thermostat of the Internet. And it wants to put the Internet under the jurisdiction of one of the most useless government agencies ever created…”
  The Net Neutrality Scam: Government Control is NOT the Solution – Chris Campbell, LAISSEZ FAIRE BOOKS
• FCC’s Net Neutrality Nuclear Option – Julian Sanchez, CATO AT LIBERTY
• “Tom Wheeler's Title II net neutrality push is the result of an "unusual, secretive" push from the Obama White House.”
  The FCC's Big Internet Power Grab Comes Directly From the White House – REASON
• “Opponents of the unhampered market economy use the Internet as their great trump card. But should they? Would there be an Internet without the state? Should we favor “net neutrality”? We cover these and other issues in today’s episode!”
  Could There Have Been an Internet Without the State? – THE TOM WOODS SHOW
• “I suspect that most people, if asked to list the biggest economic success story over the past few decades, would list high tech and the Internet…. But if every dark cloud has a silver lining, then I guess silver clouds must have dark linings. And you won’t be surprised to learn that the dark lining for the Internet and high tech is big government.”
  Should Unelected D.C. Bureaucrats Turn the Internet into a Government-Regulated Public  Utility? – Dan Mitchell, INTERNATIONAL LIBERTY

[Pics by Nate Beeler, Dana Summers. Hat tips A.J. Ellis, Scott Powell]