Democrats introduce bill to ban paid prioritization of Internet traffic

[Axle Grease]

How is this socialism?.

It's not difficult to comprehend the philosophic bent of people in the FCC pushing for this bill when the mask drops to unveil nuggets like this: "It also seeks feedback on whether broadband Internet service should be considered a public utility." To treat privately owned broadband Internet services as public utilities is about as blatant a step towards government control over internet service provision as you can get short of outright nationalization. Yeah, that's socialism alright. No doubt about it.

Its simply a regulatory move to insure that the big entrenched players can't squelch their competition by starving them of bandwidth.

The bill applies to *all* ISPs in the U.S.

That's the very epitome of REAL capitalism where the playing field is supposed to be level

That's not capitalism. The level playing field of capitalism is in having equality before the law, not a government that ensures competition. The epitome of capitalism is a government forbidden to block new entrants into the marketplace nor favour some at the expense of others.

What we have in the US these days, particularly when it comes to the telecom industry, is a cartel of companies who are merging and acquiring their way to complete monopoly. There's is no "free market" when a handful or corporations can set prices and act as gatekeepers to all Internet content. Do you want the Internet to look like the oil industry? Because allowing ISPs to arbitrarily decide who is deserving of a "fast lane" is exactly how you get there.

The objective of the free market is ever better quality products at lower prices. It's not about who owns how much of the market share. So if a large number of customers are dissatisfied with quality or price then you've got to wonder why there are no new entrants to take advantage of the situation. In the case of network provision it's usually due to local regulations pricing them out. Where I am there's so much environmental red tape these days that only "big" "entrenched" players can afford to lay down networks and with taxpayer's money being poured in, too.

 

[eelemcl]

As much as I personally like this, this is not what a democratic republic government does. This is socialism. Let the free market decide whether or not this happens. If ISPs lose subscribers over this then you will bet they will quit providing it. It could be an opportunity for a brand new ISP to secure market share. Speak with your wallet. Dont let "big brother" fight your battles for us. All they want is control.

Please. You freemarketers are full of it. There's no freemarket, and the regular people have no voice. It seems with the current administration, people like YOU are willing to call everything socialism, and tyranny when you clearly have no idea what the words mean.

How is this socialism? This is nothing but good for consumers, the economy and business. This is basically preventing big business from gaining and unfair competitive advantage over smaller start ups. It makes it harder for start ups to provide service on par with the big guys.

everyone should have an equal playing field leaving only innovation and quality service to be the keys to success.

Obamacare was the last bill introduced by Dems that benefited "consumers, the economy, and business". How's that working out for "consumers, the economy, and business"?

It's working great for me. Stop listening to Faux News and use your damn brain. Every example that Faux News puts on tv of some fool talking about how Obamacare has hurt them has been proven to be a sham.

Obama care is working great for me and my family. Affordable healthcare where before insurance companies would have charged me the same cost as buying a car per month. If you can't see how Obamacare has helped this country you're more than likely part of the companies and organizations that have been the problem with healthcare in this country.

Whether you like it or not, you are in the minority on this. Thousands of people have lost their insurance because of the HUGE spike in prices after obamacare took effect. And its only going to go up. This is just year one. We are just now seeing some of the horror stories from the Gov controlled VA clinics. You really want more of this?

Point to

You must have been living under a rock so allow me to bring you up to speed; if an ISP is an any particular area, no other ISP is allowed to be there, save DSL (which is cr@p anyway).

There, you are now up to speed of the monopolistic nature (by willful design) of ISPs.

Don’t Blame Big Cable. It’s Local Governments That Choke Broadband Competition

Google that term, then let me know how you feel about it.

I'm assuming you are talking to me, so let me advise you:

In my area I have access to satellite (Hughes), cable (Cox), DSL (Centurylink), and wireless (all four wireless companies) for broadband service. In addition, Google Fiber is researching to bring their service to the Phoenix metro area.

You should probably check yourself: The reason there is probably only one ISP allowed in your area is due to the fact that there is only one telco that is generally allowed in your area. After Ma Bell was trivested, local governments worked to give the baby Bells public utility status for telephony service, which severely limited the ability of the phone companies to charge adequate pricing for their service which, in turn, limited the amount of innovation that could go into telephony.

Now, the Dems want to introduce this style of "regulation" into the broadband because someone somewhere is feeling aggrieved that they can't stream Netflix at 50 GB/sec as opposed to 5 GB/sec for the same price.

If the rethuglicans had introduced this bill, you'd be talking about how "wonderful" it is.

mod note - merged 3 posts into 1

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Obamacare was the last bill introduced by Dems that benefited "consumers, the economy, and business". How's that working out for "consumers, the economy, and business"?

It's working great for me. Stop listening to Faux News and use your damn brain. Every example that Faux News puts on tv of some fool talking about how Obamacare has hurt them has been proven to be a sham.

'It's working great for me'? That's a little arrogant, don't you think? Just because it works for you, does that mean it will work for everyone? I think Fox is biased too, so I also read the Huffington post. They're also biased but in the other direction. I found this story where they defend the Obamacare enrollment numbers.

Do you remember the 'if you like your plan, you can keep it' story we were told? The Huffington post says "That's obviously not true for everybody, and could never have been true under a law that shakes up the insurance market by getting rid of insurance with lesser benefits and weaker financial protections." They defend the accusation that people lost their insurance by saying 'it's not that many' and they say that's it's only 4% of the population (11 million people). 11 million is a lot to lose insurance for a law that only signed up about 8 million.

They say it's OK insurance plans were cancelled because 'those plans were lousy', they say it's ok your costs went up because 'now the plans are better.'

Basically, the 'Affordable' care act caused people to lose their insurance and caused many others to pay more, and we should THANK them for it, because now the plans are 'better'. Disregarding the fact that people have lost their doctors.

Don't you think people should be free to decide for themselves what plans they'll take? Decide for themselves what Dr. they will go to? Who are you to say what's good for someone else? Who is Obama to say that? That's some scary arrogance, right there.

The govt cares about sounding good and looking good. Stop thinking they have your best interest anywhere on their priority list. You'll be far less disappointed.

 

[cmbjive]

If the Republicans had introduced the bill the same poster would say how great it is that Republicans are looking out for us, creating jobs and fostering innovation.

No, I wouldn't. Stupid regulation, regardless its source, is still stupid regulation.

 

[cmbjive]

Please. You freemarketers are full of it. There's no freemarket, and the regular people have no voice. It seems with the current administration, people like YOU are willing to call everything socialism, and tyranny when you clearly have no idea what the words mean.



It's working great for me. Stop listening to Faux News and use your damn brain. Every example that Faux News puts on tv of some fool talking about how Obamacare has hurt them has been proven to be a sham.



Point to


If the rethuglicans had introduced this bill, you'd be talking about how "wonderful" it is.

mod note - merged 3 posts into 1

How is Obamacare "working great for you"? I thought Obamacare was supposed to work great for everyone. So what you are essentially saying is that Obamacare is a bill of selfishness: As long as you got yours screw everyone else, right?

I wonder why you Leftists have a hangup about Fox News. I haven't seen a Fox News show since I stopped paying for cable five years ago. I have only visited its website a handful of times. I am against socialized medicine in any form and it shows how incredulous you Leftists are: For years you have argued against insurance companies and how they "profit off sick people" but the minute a Dem says that everyone should be forced to buy health insurance regardless of whether they want it or could afford it, suddenly you think buying health insurance is the greatest thing.

The regular people DO have a voice and you are exercising it right now. I don't agree with "net neutrality" but you do and you are seeking to use the government to force your view. That is the epitome of having a voice.

Finally, as I stated to someone else I could care less if this bill were introduced by a Dem or a GOPer: I am against stupid regulation.

 

[Guest]

Sounds like Internet Communism to me.

Special fast lanes are reasonable, imo, because most of today's internet shares so-called fair-use policy, which cannot work with businesses that generate heavy traffic by their nature, heralded by the arrival of on-demand ultra-high definition media.

This has to be the most asinine thing I have ever read online in all my years. There are no "special" fast lanes, it's only ISP's trying to grab as much money out of you as possible. It's really a very simple basic concept. You sound like a lobbyist for the telecoms with that message.

 

[penn919]

Articles like this make me uneasy. Part of the reason I come here is to catch a break from all the political back and forth on just about every other place on the internet. The mere mention of words like "Republican" or "Democrat" trigger a kind of hostility and animosity like nothing else can. Had the title read something like "Lawmakers introduce bill to ban paid prioritization of internet traffic" there wouldn't even be half as many people arguing on here.

No one really considers the issues. They merely favor their sides like they favor sports teams.

 

[captaincranky]

How is Obamacare "working great for you"? I thought Obamacare was supposed to work great for everyone. So what you are essentially saying is that Obamacare is a bill of selfishness: As long as you got yours screw everyone else, right?

I wonder why you Leftists have a hangup about Fox News. I haven't seen a Fox News show since I stopped paying for cable five years ago. I have only visited its website a handful of times. I am against socialized medicine in any form and it shows how incredulous you Leftists are: For years you have argued against insurance companies and how they "profit off sick people" but the minute a Dem says that everyone should be forced to buy health insurance regardless of whether they want it or could afford it, suddenly you think buying health insurance is the greatest thing.

The regular people DO have a voice and you are exercising it right now. I don't agree with "net neutrality" but you do and you are seeking to use the government to force your view. That is the epitome of having a voice.

Finally, as I stated to someone else I could care less if this bill were introduced by a Dem or a GOPer: I am against stupid regulation.

Oh good, now I don't need cable to listen to Rush Limbaugh, I can come here instead. Personally I like to think of myself a a "conserva-bral", pretty much middle of the road But with your constant reiteration of the slur, "leftist", you're starting to come off a an ultra right wing zealot, like Limbaugh who tailors an ever changing pallet of opinion that serves your own viewpoint, and tries to pass it off as "fact". You present as someone who thinks anything goes in the private sector, as long as some fat cat it making money to contribute to your political campaign.

Guess what, we need government regulation, and a shipload more of it. That's so your food and drugs are pure, your food is wholesome, some megalomaniac business mogul isn't crashing his fleet of delivery drones into commercial airliners, and yeah, some form of regulated health care. Most states force health care on welfare recipients, while large corporations supply it to their employees. Members of congress, both "leftist" and, "right wing", have the best health care that money can buy, provided with little to no, out of pocket expenses. So, that leaves the working poor, in real need of socialized medicine. Because listening to you run your yap, I get the feeling that you have health care, and you think everybody that can't afford it, should roll up in a ball and die. No skin off your a**, right?.

Colin Powell's son, is the former FCC chairman. Why don't you take a few minutes or hours to try and figure where he stands on this issue. He believes cable companies are at the mercy of content.providers. I just skimmed this particular article, but I couldn't help but notice, there was little to no mention of who the consumer was at the mercy of. He should be at someone's mercy, isn't that right, Rush?

 

[dixon606]

I wonder why you Leftists have a hangup about Fox News. I haven't seen a Fox News show since I stopped paying for cable five years ago. I have only visited its website a handful of times. I am against socialized medicine in any form and it shows how incredulous you Leftists are: For years you have argued against insurance companies and how they "profit off sick people" but the minute a Dem says that everyone should be forced to buy health insurance regardless of whether they want it or could afford it, suddenly you think buying health insurance is the greatest thing.

Why are you against socialized medicine in any form? Why should having healthcare for the old, children, and poor be a profit driven model? Prior to the ACA, the US had given the private insurance companies the opportunity to run healthcare, but the private industry took advantage of the poor, sick, and undereducated by denying them coverage for any reason they could find.

I work in health care and I have seen an insurance companies deny claims for reasons as petty as not signing a patient's middle initial on a form. I'm not sure why health insurance even exists... why pay a group 30% of the total pot just to say "no" over and over, while waiting for a patient to give up from frustration or die, just so they can line their pockets? is this the great free market you love so dearly, valuing profits over human life and ethics? You only like it because you haven't been screwed over by it... yet.

 

[Guest]

Captaincranky, No one here even mentioned Rush Limbaugh. And frankly I couldn't care less about an AM talk radio show. So all you do is bring legitimacy to a lousy program and lose all credibility before you even started your little rant. Oh and news flash...

Guess what, we need government regulation, and a shipload more of it.

Good job convincing anyone that you are nothing more than another loud mouth lib.

That's so your food and drugs are pure, your food is wholesome

Yea yea, and so our water is clean and our air clear right? We've heard this all before.Keep having those warm and fuzzy feelings about big brother protecting you. I'm sure it will work out for the best. *Cough* NSA *Cough* IRS Scandal

Members of congress, both "leftist" and, "right wing", have the best health care that money can buy

Of course they do,

When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. Benjamin Franklin

I get the feeling that you have health care, and you think everybody that can't afford it, should roll up in a ball and die.

Another typical leftest talking point argument based on presumption. Let me clue you in on something. No one wants ANYONE to be without adequate healthcare. Everyone should have access to healthcare. The argument is whether or not I or YOU should pay for it. Now if you want to hand over your paycheck to the homeless man down the street, that's great! You are a kind soul. But don't expect the single mother barely scraping by down the street to do the same. And where does it stop?Free dental for all? Free childcare/daycare? When? Eventually the money pit will run dry. And borrowing from china wont be an option.

 

[dixon606]

Woops, got off track, anyway...

do you really think corporations have your best interest in mind? Over 30%* of US has only one ISP to choose from, and these companies are often listed as the most hated with the poorest customer service ratings. Why would we allow them to have more power? How does this benefit me?

* can I not list sources?

/////

 

[cmbjive]

Why are you against socialized medicine in any form?

Because it either a) doesn't work or b) where it is currently "working" people suffer waiting for treatment.

I work in health care and I have seen an insurance companies deny claims for reasons as petty as not signing a patient's middle initial on a form.

That seems like an exaggeration to me. My wife works in medical billing and she has not once reported that an insurance company denied a claim for someone not putting an initial on a form, especially when most people don't sign their middle names.

I'm not sure why health insurance even exists... why pay a group 30% of the total pot just to say "no" over and over, while waiting for a patient to give up from frustration or die, just so they can line their pockets? is this the great free market you love so dearly, valuing profits over human life and ethics?

Health insurance exists because there are risks that people wish to transfer to a larger entity for a smaller premium. It's not the health insurance company's fault that Americans want everything included in health insurance even though much of what is "insured" now should be out of pocket expenses.

And I don't understand your logic. Have you not been seeing the current VA scandal where vets have been put on waiting lists without their knowledge, many dying before they even receive care? You have some nerve talking about valuing profits over human life and ethics as this is what the VA administrators were exactly doing.

You only like it because you haven't been screwed over by it... yet.

And I never will be, but the minute we get socialized medicine I know we all will be screwed.

 

[cmbjive]

Oh good, now I don't need cable to listen to Rush Limbaugh, I can come here instead. Personally I like to think of myself a a "conserva-bral", pretty much middle of the road But with your constant reiteration of the slur, "leftist", you're starting to come off a an ultra right wing zealot, like Limbaugh who tailors an ever changing pallet of opinion that serves your own viewpoint, and tries to pass it off as "fact". You present as someone who thinks anything goes in the private sector, as long as some fat cat it making money to contribute to your political campaign.

Guess what, we need government regulation, and a shipload more of it. That's so your food and drugs are pure, your food is wholesome, some megalomaniac business mogul isn't crashing his fleet of delivery drones into commercial airliners, and yeah, some form of regulated health care. Most states force health care on welfare recipients, while large corporations supply it to their employees. Members of congress, both "leftist" and, "right wing", have the best health care that money can buy, provided with little to no, out of pocket expenses. So, that leaves the working poor, in real need of socialized medicine. Because listening to you run your yap, I get the feeling that you have health care, and you think everybody that can't afford it, should roll up in a ball and die. No skin off your a**, right?.

Colin Powell's son, is the former FCC chairman. Why don't you take a few minutes or hours to try and figure where he stands on this issue. He believes cable companies are at the mercy of content.providers. I just skimmed this particular article, but I couldn't help but notice, there was little to no mention of who the consumer was at the mercy of. He should be at someone's mercy, isn't that right, Rush?

I didn't mention Rush Limbaugh, you did. For your information, I probably listened to only one broadcast of Rush Limbaugh's show and that was more than a decade ago. I don't need him to come to my own conclusions.

Anything goes in the private sector? Where exactly is this happening? Instead worrying about me using "Leftist" as a slur (I just call kettles black), you should probably stop using Leftist talking points to slur others (I thought you said you were the middle of the road?).

I don't think you're middle of the road, but straight Left-wing (one of the best tricks Leftists love to play is that their position is 'middle-of-the-road'). You got all your standard tropes: Bash the conservative by accusing him of wanting people to die and suffer because he wants less regulation and little government interference in the private sector. For your information, again, captain cranky, I pay a lot of my healthcare expenses out of pocket. Instead of going on your Left-wing tangent perhaps you should stop and learn to read as I have already mentioned this fact. I don't mind paying for my healthcare and people like you are giving the "working poor" a raw deal shuffling them off into Medicaid or other welfare programs that don't even improve their situation and may in fact make it worse for them.

I don't care what former FCC chairmen think; I only care what current FCC chairmen think because they're the ones who can draft the regulation. It's funny that you talk about consumers being at the mercy of cable providers, but what about those consumers who don't wish to pay higher prices because they don't use the internet as much as others? Where is their "justice"?

 

[dixon606]

Why are you against socialized medicine in any form?

Because it either a) doesn't work or b) where it is currently "working" people suffer waiting for treatment.

I work in health care and I have seen an insurance companies deny claims for reasons as petty as not signing a patient's middle initial on a form.

That seems like an exaggeration to me. My wife works in medical billing and she has not once reported that an insurance company denied a claim for someone not putting an initial on a form, especially when most people don't sign their middle names.

You only like it because you haven't been screwed over by it... yet.

And I never will be, but the minute we get socialized medicine I know we all will be screwed.

Do you really believe that working people weren't getting screwed over before the ACA? That no one died waiting for coverage? That costs weren't spiraling out of control? Laughable.

Why would I exaggerate about the denied claim? I seen it with my own eyes. I've also seen insurance companies deny diabetic testing unless the patient already had diabetes *head explodes*

I agree that gov't run anything is terrible, but still not as bad as a health care for profit model, but the VA situation is awful and unfortunate and unforgivable. You can search for articles showing where Senate Republicans blocked VA funding in Feb due to not being allowed to tie Iran sanctions to it, but the VA troubles have been going on for decades prior to that. Something about loving to start wars but never paying the bill for them.

I also understand how insurance works and why it exists, but if it is required that everyone have it (essentially a tax), then what purpose do the insurance companies provide now?

How could you possibly know if you will be screwed over by a health insurance company in the future? Less likely now than in years past due to regulations preventing them from cheating clients out of services. Can I get some lottery numbers?

 

[cmbjive]

Do you really believe that working people weren't getting screwed over before the ACA? That no one died waiting for coverage? That costs weren't spiraling out of control? Laughable.

And how, exactly, did Obamacare address any of those things? Although I do take issue with the "dying waiting for coverage" that you throw out. There is a difference between dying waiting to see if your operation is covered by insurance (though in many cases, the doctors would still perform the operation and leave to the patient to be reimbursed by the insurer if covereage issues arise) and purposely being placed on a waiting list without your knowledge.

Why would I exaggerate about the denied claim? I seen it with my own eyes. I've also seen insurance companies deny diabetic testing unless the patient already had diabetes *head explodes*

Because it's an exaggeration. I don't know why you would exaggerate it. The second scenario seems more plausible and it makes sense. Why should the insurance company pay for a test to see if you have diabetes? Shouldn't that be something you can pay out of pocket?

I agree that gov't run anything is terrible, but still not as bad as a health care for profit model, but the VA situation is awful and unfortunate and unforgivable. You can search for articles showing where Senate Republicans blocked VA funding in Feb due to not being allowed to tie Iran sanctions to it, but the VA troubles have been going on for decades prior to that. Something about loving to start wars but never paying the bill for them.

Oh, please. Money is not the problem with the VA. It has received funding and has always received funding. And you can stop with the qualifiers: You obviously believe that government run healthcare is better than for profit healthcare (even though you have no evidence to support this assertion). And please, again: This is already off-topic and now you want to talk about loving to start wars?

I also understand how insurance works and why it exists, but if it is required that everyone have it (essentially a tax), then what purpose do the insurance companies provide now?

Well, last I checked Obamacare mandates Americans buy insurance. Health insurance companies sell the product. Therefore, Obamacare mandates Americans buy insurance from health insurance companies which sells the product.

How could you possibly know if you will be screwed over by a health insurance company in the future? Less likely now than in years past due to regulations preventing them from cheating clients out of services. Can I get some lottery numbers?

Because I'm being screwed NOW (please read my prior post above). There is no such thing as a perfect regulation. Every one of them can be exploited and many are purposely written so that it can be exploited. That's why I have always said that Obamacare is not so much about healthcare, but about making work for lawyers.

 

[Guest]

Cmbjive, I agree but I seriously think you are wasting your breath. Libs don't understand the term "insurance". They think healthcare is a payment plan that warrants you to pay $100s in and get $1000s of services for free. And they think the money just drops out of the sky to pay for it.

I relate a liberal to a crying 4 year old in a toy store screaming for a new toy. They are clueless as to how it is attained, the implications of the actions to attain it, or even the reasoning. They just know they want it. And they want it now!

But I disagree about one thing,

That's why I have always said that Obamacare is not so much about healthcare, but about making work for lawyers.

Obamacare was about one thing and one thing only. Government control over 1/3rd of the US economy, and the eventuality of a single payer system. The ACA was broken by design. They WANT people to demand gov fix what gov has broken. Thats how the left thinks. Think about what gov can regulate all in the name of protection of your health.

 

[mailpup]

Can we get back on topic please?

 

[Guest]

We can. Here is a fun fact. The largest cable(internet company) is Comcast. They are the parent company of none other than MSNBC. Which is behind all the leftist dribble about evil monopolistic corporations and the republicans that own them. Ironic?