France is one of the most regulated countries and the price for internet access is still the cheapest in Western Europe. So, no, I wouldn't blame the government for your prices.
Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the government
141–145 of 145 posts
Re: Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the government
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem is caused by bad government, but the solution is good government, as exemplified by the BT story. A completely free market would lead to a monopoly in broadband anyways. The irony here is that the government is not doing anything to solve the problem.
Government getting the hell out of the way of people voluntarily interacting the marketplace is the best situation. For example: cable easements. Get rid of them. Get rid of all easements. Without them, you would have a variety of options and methods of gaining access to a number of utilities (internet, power, etc) as well as new services that have not yet been created.
If no one enforces laws that prevent underhanded tactics in business, how is that a healthy market? And don't say that consumers would naturally avoid companies that collude together to raise prices or put lead in paint.
Specifically in this scenario, how could the British government remaining uninvolved with the BT situation have led to a better market?
Re: Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the government
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
Monopolies only exist in two situations: 1. They supply the market demand perfectly. 2. Government forces them into that position directly or indirectly. There are no exceptions.
Ah, a libertardian. I should have known.
I love the down-votes - this site is becoming more like reddit every day.
I love the response too. Thanks. Rather mature and dignified.
Re: Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the government
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
That clearly isn't the answer, as the article spends many paragraphs explaining. The answer is "do things that encourage competition and investment". The US government fails at this, but it is neither a limitation of government per se or easily achieved by private enterprise alone.
The article argues that good situations resulted from government action. The reality is that while these situations are viewed as good, they are not neccessarily the best. Only when individuals are able to voluntarily interact in the market do the best services and products meet the best prices and innovation is at its highest. One of the main factors that does not permit government from being able to exist in a mark…
Ah yes! -2! Let's outpace reddit down the website memory hole!
I mean really people, this is basic economics.
Re: Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the government
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
Properly speaking, the concept "monopoly" properly pertains only to situations where the government enforces the monopoly. This is the original meaning of the word (before it was altered in the 19th and 20th centuries). There is no proper political right for a "consumer" to have a choice between multiple brands of a product. If there were such a right, it would be violated the moment they walked into a remote store t…
Properly speaking, the concept "monopoly" properly pertains only to situations where the government enforces the monopoly. This is the original meaning of the word (before it was altered in the 19th and 20th centuries). I'd love to see where you got that idea because it isn't true. The first use of the word was by Aristotle, where he describes Thales of Miletus' (who was a private citizen) cornering of the market in…
I'd love to see where you got that idea
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=monopoly
weren't sanctioned by the government (eg, the guild system in Europe).
No, this proves my point exactly. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild. Here's the fourth sentence: "They often depended on grants of letters patent by a monarch or other authority to enforce the flow of trade to their self-employed members, and to retain ownership of tools and the supply of materials."