From: Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 1996 09:50:50 -0800 (PST)
To: Lucky Green <trei@process.com>
Subject: RE: Mass-market crypto phones
Message-ID: <3.0b36.32.19961123113329.0074e444@panix.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 10:40 AM 11/22/96 -0800, Lucky Green wrote:
>The LEA's are not intested in saving the public money. They are 
>interested in preserving and expanding their power. If it costs 
>$1,000,000 per wiretap, who cares? The government has men with guns that 
>can always go out and extort more cash from the population.
>
>--Lucky

They could if they would; but they can't so they won't.  Governments (like
real people) always collect as much revenue as they possibly can at a given
time.  If they could figure out a way to get more they would.  To argue
otherwise is to imply that they are not maximizing their total monetary and
psychic income and are forebearing to grab all they could.  I don't think
members of this list should pay The Great Enemy such a compliment.

Remember the findings of the Public Choice school.

DCF