Hacker News Reader

Comment by marknutter | Hacker News Reader

No; when government becomes sufficiently small.

No and no; when we are sufficiently globalized and companies are taxed (fairly) by all countries. In your example, France is pissed off they're not getting a slice of the billion dollar pie because Google sits in the US. Our archaic ideas of "nations" are tied to land masses - not a great partner to a distributable service that can be accessed almost anywhere near the speed of light.

Your archaic idea of taxes is what holds back productive efforts to be distributed wherever needed at the maximum speed.

At the risk of derailing the discussion, it's my understanding that the US government is not getting much in corporate taxes from Google either, thanks to a well-established practice of tax-dodging by funneling profits into Ireland.

When government is "sufficiently small" then conventional colleges will be able to just pay ISPs to block Coursera.

Cutting out the middleman! I guess government is inefficient.

Why would customers choose an ISP that does such a thing?

Why do you think they would have a choice? Compared to the situation in Europe, Americans don't really have much choice right now.

Because with a sufficiently small government, ISPs would not enjoy a government-mandated duopoly?

Because with a sufficiently small government, ISPs would not enjoy a government-mandated duopoly?

BINGO! Give yummyfajitas a cookie. Government inhibits competition and innovation more than it helps.

...instead enjoying monopoly unencumbered by some silly competition law.

Why couldn't competitors enter the market?

Because the theoretical government was too small to force even a duopoly, so one provider has bought all the wires.

In the USA, technologically unnecessary government regulation of the wireless spectrum is the only reason the wires confer any sort of monopoly. If the FCC didn't exist, we wouldn't all be forced to use 1940s tech on all non-wifi bands, and our local loop to our ISP would be wireless, fast, and effectively free.

Instead, we have Ma Bell, Part II. I don't see how an evil corporation could have brought about such a situation without the enthusiastic assistance of the state.

Please, leave the wireless spectrum to the mobile devices and use the effectively unlimited spectrum that you get with wires for non-mobile devices. Spectrum is a scarce resource that really does need government oversight!

Why couldn't competitors install more?

When they try, the monopoly lowers its prices until the competitors are out of business.

Why couldn't competitors enter the market after the monopoly raises them again?

Because an ISP that takes payments from third parties to block content will thereby be able to provide lower rates to consumers.

Yes, and so people would be glad to choose that. And others would prefer to pay for the content (presumably, Coursera wouldn't be the only ones blocked), much like they do with almost everything else. Is there any market where only the cheapest can sell? I doubt it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com