Net Neutrality, Insurance Reform and Another ACORN Scandal
Senate Republicans abandon an attempt to stop the FCC’s proposed net neutrality regulations.
New Orleans braces for the arrival of “Out of the Storm 09: Making Reform Work,” the insurance conference sponsored by CEI and the Independent Institute.
Embattled community organization ACORN finds itself embroiled in a new tax scandal.
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.
1. TECHNOLOGY
Senate Republicans abandon an attempt to stop the FCC’s proposed net neutrality regulations.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Regulatory Studies Fellow Ryan Young on why profits, not policy, will bring us faster networks:
“Wishing scarcity away through neutrality regulations is not a constructive approach. Companies already tend to gravitate towards best business practices. If they don’t, then they go out of business. If policymakers really want a faster, cheaper, more open Internet, they should give service providers an incentive to make it so…Of course, many net neutrality advocates decry the profit motive. Mere avarice, they say. And sometimes it is. But it can’t be legislated away. Like it or not, the profit motive exists. It is here to stay. Why not harness it, then? If companies can make higher profits by speeding data along as fast as they can, all of a sudden they have a powerful incentive to build ever larger, ever faster networks.”
2. BUSINESS
New Orleans braces for the arrival of “Out of the Storm 09: Making Reform Work,” the insurance conference sponsored by CEI and the Independent Institute.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer on what to expect from the conference:
“We’re trying to ask the tough questions and provide them with – at minimum – partial answers. Louisiana and South Carolina have both gone down the road of pro-market reform for hurricane-prone areas. This is sure to be an important conference.”
3. LEGAL
Embattled community organization ACORN finds itself embroiled in a new tax scandal.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Attorney Hans Bader on where the organization stands now:
“ACORN has long received taxpayer money despite a history of financial fraud and voter registration fraud. [They] helped spawn the mortgage crisis by promoting ‘liar loans’…ACORN stands to profit greatly from Obama’s financial-regulation proposals, which would strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act (The Community Reinvestment Act is extremely harmful to banks and prudent lending, pressuring banks to make risky, low-income loans). Its affiliates and related entities would also likely profit from Obama’s health care plan.”
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.