Re: Noise: Re: Those Evil Republicans

At 02:49 PM 6/24/96 -0400, Hallam-Baker wrote:

>If you had heard the whole speech rather than only the portion reported on CNN

I read the reporting and excerpts in the Saturday Times.  

>you would know that you have entirely distored the meaning. The point being
>made was that cyberspace is being promoted as a panacea for all ills, many of
>which it is creating rather than curing. 

I wasn't aware of any ills being created by cyberspace.  For one thing, it
hasn't been around (as a big thing) long enough.  The only impact it has had
so far is to reduce TV watching and improve writing ability (from a very low
base level) among its heavy users.  That's a good thing.  Any effects of
disintermediation or shrinking of institutions (governments and
corporations) as we discuss on this list haven't really happened yet.

>Cyberspace is not a replacement for an
>ecconomic policy, Newts idea of giving laptops to homeless people is not a
>solution for poverty. Actually I think that this is quite obvious from the
>quote you give.

I assume that Clinton's statement was aimed at the neo-Luddites in the
AFSCME.  There are probably quite a few.  Actually freedom of communications
or free exchange of bits (cyberspace) and by analogy the free exchange of
goods and services *are* an economic policy though of course a controversial
one.

>Given the experience of derregulating Savings and Loans institutions I don't
>think the country could survive another round of deregulation. As Reagan said
>"Gentlemen we've hit the jackpot" - and of course they had, S&L was not a
>fiasco for certain people, just for the poor taxpayers.

Yes the great inventor of deposit insurance FDR has a lot to answer for.
But for his intervention, we taxpayers wouldn't have owed a dime for the S&L
collapse.

I expect quite a bit more de facto dereg as people become harder to control.
A mere desire to regulate others unaccompanied by the ability to do so is so
much noise. 

>> In the same speech in which he talked about people hunting ducks with rifles.

>Damned unsporting eh? Isn't the NRA weapon of choice a surface to air missile?

The NRA suggests shotguns.  A rifle is much more sporting than a shotgun for
assassinating quackers.  Hard to hit them with rifles (even harder with SAMs).

DCF

"If the Internet is so easy to control, how come my sysop can't even control
his little piece of it?"

>I read the reporting and excerpts in the Saturday Times.  

The Times is a Rupert Murdoch paper and so the views you find tend to be those 
of Rupert Murdoch - the man who gave Newt a $3million bribe (oops advance 
payment). 

>I wasn't aware of any ills being created by cyberspace.  For one thing, it
>hasn't been around (as a big thing) long enough. 

It probably dosen't affect you but there have been losers, mainly people loosing 
their jobs in the banking, insurance and other sectors where administrative 
staff are being replaced by computer. Now in the long run this is a good thing, 
but in the short run it is bad for the people concerned.

> The only impact it has had
>so far is to reduce TV watching and improve writing ability (from a very low
>base level) among its heavy users.  That's a good thing.  Any effects of
>disintermediation or shrinking of institutions (governments and
>corporations) as we discuss on this list haven't really happened yet.

Actually shrinking of government is happening but not because of the net. We are 
currently seeing the effect of the first wave of PC technology. The federal 
government has been drastically cut in size but mainly through outsourcing and 
contracting, not through reduction in functions performed. 

The main limitations are social, not technological. Like many large 
organisations the government has an ossified beauracracy. There is a very strong 
disincentive against making any changes. The reward for inovation is likely to 
be blame for whatever bad things happen without any credit for anything good 
that happens. Plus you could find yourself in front of a congressional kangeroo 
court being charged with some partisan charge or other.

Disintermediation is something that is happening, you could go to the Whitehouse 
site and obtain the "official" press release direct from the source.


>Yes the great inventor of deposit insurance FDR has a lot to answer for.
>But for his intervention, we taxpayers wouldn't have owed a dime for the S&L
>collapse.

Remember why FDR invented deposit insurance? The worst depression in modern 
history was caused by the lack of deposit insurance. You have the option of 
investing in a bank that is not insured, there were no problems with the 
insurance scheme so long as the insurers were allowed to regulate their risk 
just like any other insurer does. The problem came when Reagan and his crew "hit 
the jackpot".


>>Damned unsporting eh? Isn't the NRA weapon of choice a surface to air missile?
>
>The NRA suggests shotguns.  A rifle is much more sporting than a shotgun for
>assassinating quackers.  Hard to hit them with rifles (even harder with SAMs).

Well if you are a bad shot you probably need to use a shotgun. But think of the 
advantages of using a steel bullet - no lead poisoning problems!

	Phill