Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Friday, March 7, 2014

Can You Hear Me Now?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/whos-speedy-in-the-usa

This is really interesting.  America's internet is relatively crappy.  This kind of explains why.

It reminds me of my theory of why America could never move beyond the second or third tier of international rugby.  We're just too big a country to get the players - who were amateurs - together to practice.  Similarly, the US is a difficult place to wire with fiberoptic cable (or whatever is the current fastest conduit of 1s and 0s).

Generally speaking, where people live closer to each other, they tend to value government action more.  You realize Locke's version of the social contract is more accurate to your needs.  And so you imbue the social contract with more communal needs.

Frankly, US internet service is yet another example of where the so-called free market is failing Americans.  Between monopolistic practices and profit margins, providing the best and easiest internet service is less important that providing the cheapest internet service the customers will tolerate.

So, yeah.  America!  Number one, baby!  Whoohoo!

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