From: hallam@Etna.ai.mit.edu
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 13:42:27 +0800
To: Duncan Frissell <cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Noise: Re: Those Evil Republicans
In-Reply-To: <2.2.32.19960624201317.0092cd94@popserver.panix.com>
Message-ID: <9606242058.AA01765@Etna.ai.mit.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



>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