by James V. DeLong
December 31, 2000

High tech issues are at center stage in the 107^th Congress.  Broadband deployment, intellectual property, internet regulation and taxation, the “digital divide,” long distance telephony–all present problems that are politically contentious as well as technically and economically complex.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute is a non-profit public policy organization dedicated to principles of free enterprise and limited government.  It holds that free people and free markets can accomplish prodigies, and that government interventions must be both limited and carefully crafted.  Government can indeed provide grease to lubricate the joints of the economy, but too much existing and proposed regulation is produced by special interests, conceived in ignorance, or both.  These regulations become not grease but superglue that cements the status quo, deters investment, and prevents innovation.

In Tech Briefing 2001:  A Free Market Guide to Navigating Tech Issues in the 107^th Congress, CEI’s experts apply this perspective to 20 topics that are high on the current national agenda.  Each chapter briefly describes the technology behind the issue, outlines the policy debate, and offers CEI’s view of the policy.  Endnotes provide sources for factual statements and guideposts for further research.

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