chuck your cable analogy doesn't work.... let's look at it. In fact TCI owns primestar and has used its ownership to hobble distribution in urban areas and has tried (pretty successfully) to make it a rural supliment to its archaic systems. It then did a deal with Murduch to prevent him providing real competition via echo-star, they then together carved up local sports so that they now carry all but one MLB team in the country and most NBA teams locally, and have put together a plan where they undercut hughes in their most important markets and have (illeagealy in my view) prevented hughes from carrying these popular channels. In fact it is the opposite. Dolan, Murdoch, and Malone.... three rich ultra conservatives.... have leveraged their monopoly power into stakes in new web based delivery technologies to which they add next to nothing (not even capital), having almost run their own businesses to the ground in the early 90's. Hughes like apple is tolerated because it provides the gloss of competition without impacting on the bottom line, and when it does Murdoch will just make a bigger bid for the NFL package and Direct TV will be dust. FYI I spent two years battling these beasts, and I know first hand how the cable bizzz works---- or doesn't. Oh and by the way cable (with the possible exception of Time Warner has absolutly crippled the development of delevery technology, fearfull that they didn't have a business model that would pay for it without diluting profits, and under no competitive pressure to do so..... no no no you've in fact picked one of the most outragous example of how an industry has gooten fat off of too lax regulation, and how we pay for it.
look I'm not trying to belittle the American dream; its a wonderful and pro-active thing, but the tendency of mature markets to become monopolistic is well documented, and has gotta be controled. Further I recently came back from a short visit to malaysia.... places that were once beautiful obliterated by polution, asembley workers with no protection, or pensions, and cronyism beyond what one can believe..... no no no... blind faith in humanity and the idea that the powerful will look after the people doesn't work at all.... protection of the people is what government is all about....that's why the idea of a more responsive government should be the ideal, rather than co-opting the hackneyed idea that small-is-better goverment, which is in essence a trick laid on us by people who wish to profit from lack of regulation.
Gotta go see ya after the 8th.
FYI what is the current definition of a real job, one that has certain hours, that cripples creativity, or one has to listen to a creep telling them what to do.... (smile) mine is one that you do to support those you're responsible for. Whatever that is |
