When The Invisible Hand Becomes a Fist
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Perhaps by now you’ve heard that the FCC in the US is planning to “roll back net neutrality”, that is, to give telecomms companies the right tocharge you for visiting different websites. So think: $4.99 for Netflix, $5.99 for the news bundle, $9.99 for the sports package, $12.99 for the Platinum Social Media Experience Including Facebook and Twitter, and so on — on top of what you already pay. Sound crazy?
Let’s think about it all for a second.
You are going to pay more for what you already consume.So by definition, no real value is being created in this exchange — it is only what economists call rent-seeking, a transfer of value from you, to telecomms companies. Now, companies use their profits these days for two things, mostly: share buybacks, and CEO compensation. So the “rollback of net neutrality” is a long-winded way to say money leaves the pocket of the average American, to go to hedge funds and CEOs.Thus, inequality grows, dissatisfaction rises, and America is even less able to afford what it needs: education, healthcare, transport, and so on.
(And of course, all the while, whomever chooses what media peoplecanenjoy in those packages and bundles will also be able to corrode democracy and civil rights from the top…
